RIYADH: Saudi rail network can soon expect better operational efficiency and safety standards with the local transport authority approving 15 licensing and technical guides to improve commuting. The Transport General Authority, which oversees land, railway and maritime transport in the Kingdom, issued the guides that include operating permit, implementation plans and project delivery, reported the Saudi Press Agency, citing a top official. Rumaih Al-Rumaih, TGA’s acting president, said the document included procedures on safety management systems, change and control management, and a manual on appointing an independent specialist consultant. The approved guides also contained notes on safe design, construction, and technical and interoperability standards. TGA, which facilitates investment in line with the Kingdom’s development strategies and the Vision 2030 reform plans, also provided guides for accident reporting and investigation, and emergency planning. As Saudi Arabia is scaling up its railway network to meet the growing passenger traffic, the guides can become an important tool to achieve better operational efficiency and safety standards. Saudi Arabia Railways recorded a 104 percent growth in the total number of passengers to 2.22 million in the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period last year, affirming a massive increase in the Kingdom’s transport sector. The number of journeys on the northern, eastern and Haramain High-Speed Rail networks reached 8,036 during the first three months of the year, representing a 54 percent annual increase, reported SAR’s latest operational results published in May. According to the report, the volume of goods transported on the Kingdom’s railway network reached 5.83 million tons during the first quarter of 2023, up 7 percent from the same quarter of the previous year. The Saudi railway network’s preparedness reached nearly 100 percent during the first three months of 2023.