Khalaf Al-Harbi

Okaz newspaper

The best way to fix the problems crippling the transportation industry in the country is to send all employees in the sector into retirement. Give them a golden handshake and an appreciation certificate as well.



This would help solve the perennial problems that have been hindering the progress of the transportation sector for decades.



Just last week a Pakistani driver was killed on the spot after his truck collided with a train at a grade crossing. Three days later about 40 people were injured when a passenger train derailed.



Anybody who hears about these accidents would think that there are many railway lines crisscrossing the length and breadth of the country. Not only that the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) had failed in building a single railroad since the 1950s, but it also could not prevent recurring accidents on the only line it operates.



At a press conference in Riyadh the other day, the acting head of the SRO devoted just five minutes to comment on the latest accident and another five minutes to speak about the organization’s future projects. The rest of his time was used to attack the media, the traffic authorities and the Anti-Corruption Commission.



The SRO official was annoyed with the media personnel because of the criticisms and “imprecise” reports. He was angry at the traffic authorities for detaining the train’s engineer and with the Anti-Corruption Commission because it opened an investigation into the deal for buying Spanish trains that the organization itself admitted were not fit for service. (And experience proved that the trains are unsafe for passengers.)

He announced that a five-man committee from the organization had been tasked with an inquiry to determine the cause of the derailment — a clear indication that the investigation would not yield anything and one should not expect much from it.



In my opinion, the organization owes us an apology because we tried many a time to awaken it from its deep slumber.



The SRO’s inefficiency is best manifested in its squandering of a unique opportunity given to it 10 years ago when demands were made for railway services in the Northern Border Province. It also failed to benefit from the historic deal to link the east and west of the country by a railway line for the simple reason that the organization does not have an administrative structure capable of transforming it into the largest railway company in the Middle East. Its potentials are limited to operate the service between Dammam and Riyadh.



It would be a great favor to the public and the country if this organization were converted into a joint stock company. The trains that currently ply the Riyadh-Dammam route can then be gifted as antiques to the organizers of the Janadriyah Heritage and Culture Festival to preserve them for posterity.