Alstom signed a contract for more than €500 million with the Royal Commission for AlUla for AlUla’s pioneering battery-powered tramway, the world’s longest catenary-free line. The fully integrated Alstom tramway system will feature 20 state-of-the-art Citadis B battery trams.

The 22.4-km line will encapsulate richness, history, and green mobility like no other, linking 17 strategically located stations, offering unmatched access to AlUla’s five core historical districts, including UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as AlUla Old Town (District 1), Dadan (District 2), Jabal Ikmah (District 3), Nabataean Horizon (District 4), and Hegra Historical City (District 5).

This ambitious project aims to deliver unique transit options for residents and tourists, with innovative, climate-adapted trams. This project builds upon Alstom’s pioneering expertise in the field of tramways in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The company delivered the Dubai tramway, the first fully integrated tramway system in the Middle East and the world’s first 100% catenary-free line, which was opened in November 2014.

Alstom also built the first tramway in Lusail Qatar, the largest tramway system project in the Gulf region and the first catenary-free tramway in the country, which transported passengers during the World Cup.

Full Article: IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, Volume 19, Issue 2, June 2024

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