Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia’s first train driver, Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim Al Dariwish, has died aged 96, local media reported.
Al Dariwish took over as the first locomotive operator of Saudi Arabia’s first rail line, between Riyadh and Dammam, opened in 1951. Previously, the job was limited to Americans.
Saudi Arabia is on track to develop its rail networks as part of a GCC-wide push to ramp up regional transportation, with the high-speed Haramain railway now operating at near-full capacity, Riyadh’s Metro almost complete and another 800km of track, along with sleeping coaches, added to the Kingdom’s North-South railway.