22 July 2004
Saudi Arabian News Digest
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Saudi Arabia's railways operator Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO) has started offering a 50 pct discount for university students, the company said on July 21, 2004.

Both students from private and state universities in the Kingdom may use the discount, which is effective on all SRO routes. The discount is a part of SRO's efforts to increase its client base and offer quality services.

SRO reported a revenue of 194.8 mln Saudi riyals ($51.9 mln/42.4 mln euro) for 2003, up from 164.7 mln riyals ($43.9 mln/35.8 mln euro) for 2002. The company's revenue from passenger transport rose to 29 mln riyals ($7.7 mln/6.3 mln euro) in 2003. SRO transported a total of 913,000 passengers and 1.9 million tonnes of cargo in 2003.

(Editor's note: SRO operates a railroad between the eastern commercial centre of Dammam and the capital Riyadh, in the central part of the country. The railroad passes through Dhahran, Abqaiq, Hofuf, Harad and al-Kharj. SRO was established in 1976 under the name Saudi Arabian Railway Corporation.)

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Source: Al-Madina Press (JD/LB/TD)