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Saudi Arabia Railways Purchases 10 Next Generation Passenger Trains for Growing Network

Officials are seen at the signing ceremony. (SPA)
Officials are seen at the signing ceremony. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Railways Purchases 10 Next Generation Passenger Trains for Growing Network

Officials are seen at the signing ceremony. (SPA)
Officials are seen at the signing ceremony. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) signed a contract with Stadler, a Swiss rail infrastructure and train manufacturer, for the supply and maintenance of ten next-generation passenger trains for SAR's East railway network, alongside the option for SAR to order an additional ten units in the future.

As per the contract signed by SAR CEO Bashar AlMalik and Stadler President Peter Spuhler, the trains will meet the latest European and international standards while also being designed for the specific climate of Saudi Arabia to provide a comfortable and safe travel experience.

Each train will be able to carry around 340 passengers, with designated tracks for wheelchairs to serve people with mobility disabilities.

Minister of Transport and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SAR Saleh Al-Jasser attended the signing ceremony. He said these trains will double the annual capacity of the East Trains to over 3.8 million passengers annually and provide direct express service between Riyadh and Dammam to meet the growing demand for trips between the two main cities in the Kingdom.

AlMalik also said SAR is committed to achieving a comprehensive renaissance in the rail transport field in the Kingdom, adding that these modern trains will serve the entire operational scope of the East railway network by increasing seat capacity, the number of daily trips, and the annual capacity of the network, as these trains will cover the stations of Riyadh, Hofuf, Abqaiq and Dammam.

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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he will nominate prominent investor Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists."

Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during his first term, Reuters reported
The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. Bessent spent day after day at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida providing economic advice, sources said, a proximity to the president-elect that may have helped him prevail.
Other names that had been floated included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department.
Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans."
"Bessent has been on the side of less aggressive tariffs," said Oxford Economics' Ryan Sweet, adding that picking him makes the steep tariffs Trump proposed on the campaign trail less likely.
Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Bessent's home state, said in a statement: "President Trump's economic agenda is in good hands with Scott Bessent. I look forward to working closely with Scott and President Trump to lower inflation and create the golden age of prosperity for the American people."