SAR arranges Swiss-backed financing for 10 Stadler trains as it expands rail capacity

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has lined up financing for 10 new Stadler passenger trains. The agreement, signed at InnoTrans in Berlin, brings in Swiss Export Risk Ins. (SERV) alongside KfW IPEX-Bank, Commerzbank, and UBS Switzerland to fund the purchase from the Swiss manufacturer, state news agency SPA reports. It builds on SAR’s 2024 Stadler contract and takes the total order to 20 trains, each with five cars and 302 seats.

The combined order will lift the Eastern line’s fleet to 31 from 11 and capacity to about 6 mn seats, SAR spokesperson Khalid Al Farhan told Asharq Business. The first batch arrives in 2028 and enters service in 2029, lifting capacity to 3.8 mn seats on the Riyadh-Hofuf-Dammam route.

SAR’s Berlin orders covered freight too. It bought 33 freight locomotives from US firm Progress Rail and 782 freight cars from Greenbrier to expand its cargo network.

REMEMBER- SAR opened a tender for 10 new trains to triple passenger capacity on its 2.7k km Northern line to more than 2.4 mn seats. Spain’s Talgo, meanwhile, is supplying 20 high-speed trains under a EUR 1.3 bn order that will lift annual capacity on the Makkah-Madinah network by 60% to 30 mn seats when they enter service in 2029.

SMC’s third Riyadh hospital gets a builder

Specialized Medical Company (SMC) has awarded Mahart Al Injaz Contracting a SAR 148.5 mn contract for the foundation, structural, and construction works of SMC 3 Hospital in Riyadh, Argaam reports. The 360-day job begins on site handover. The hospital, on the Northern Ring Road, will have 296 beds, 200 outpatient clinics, and a helipad, with completion due in 4Q 2028.

Erad’s SME lender pulls in USD 22 mn Series A

Riyadh-based SME financing platform (Erad) has raised a USD 22 mn Series A, led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), the company said in a press release. New backers SVC, 500 Global, S60 Ventures, ANB Capital, Conjunction Capital, and Araya Ventures came in, with existing investors including Khwarizmi, Nuwa Capital, and Aljazira Capital.

The use of proceeds: Erad will spend the round building financing products for capital-intensive sectors such as industrial, logistics, manufacturing, as well as hiring across the region.

The pitch is speed: Erad, founded in 2022 by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini, and Youssef Said, offers shariah-compliant working capital of up to SAR 10 mn across Saudi and the UAE. Erad uses AI underwriting to approve financing within 48 hours. It has deployed more than SAR 500 mn (USD 133 mn) to SMEs so far, against over SAR 4 bn (USD 1 bn) in financing requests.