SAR buys 782 railcars to haul Phosphate 3 + Asyad’s new bulkers come pre-booked

SAR’s phosphate push

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) ordered 782 freight cars from US manufacturer Greenbrier for the Northern Railway network expansion tied to the Phosphate 3 project, according to a post on LinkedIn. The order includes tank cars for phosphoric acid and molten sulfur, as well as intermodal units, and the tank cars have already started shipping to the Kingdom, according to a press release from the manufacturer. Neither company disclosed the value of the order.

REFRESHER- In late 2025, SAR tendered an SAR 4 bn project to double-track 100 km of its phosphate railway, which links the Wa’ad Al Shamal mining hub to Ras Al Khair. The company awarded the contract — the first of four planned upgrades to the phosphate rail network — to local firm Alomaier Trading & Contracting last month, Meed reported.

IN CONTEXT- SAR has been adding freight capacity across its network. In April, the company rolled out five new freight routes linking Gulf ports to the Kingdom’s central and northern logistics hubs, with extensions to Red Sea ports and northern neighbors. The routes run through yards including Ras Al Khair and Hail and carry petrochemicals and minerals. Later in June, SAR awarded the contract for a 22.7 km rail link connecting Dammam’s Second Industrial City to the national network to an OHL Arabia-Hassan Allam Construction JV.

Fresh hull, straight to work

Asyad Shipping’s Kamsarmax is out on charter: The Omani carrier took delivery of Ain Al Sarooj, the first of two 85k-dwt vessels it ordered in April, and deployed it on a one-year time charter — while Ain Al Thawarah, due by end-November, has already secured a two-year charter, according to a disclosure (pdf). The two 2023-built vessels cost Asyad around OMR 28 mn combined.

Doubling down on dry bulk carrier: Once Ain Al Thawarah joins, Asyad’s owned dry-bulk fleet will stand at 18 vessels with more than 3 mn dwt of capacity, spanning VLOCs, Newcastlemaxes, baby-Capesizes, Kamsarmaxes, and Ultramaxes. The acquisition sits within the company’s USD 2.3-2.6 bn fleet renewal push through 2029, which is targeting growth in crude, dry bulk, and gas, alongside the gradual shedding of older tonnage.