An historic deal that would have been China’s first sale of high-speed trains abroad has fallen through after state-controlled China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation dropped its bid to service the Mecca-Medina “pilgrim express” in Saudi Arabia.
The company, which was considered the frontrunner to win the contract, blamed technical factors including the harsh desert environment, but said it remains committed to rapid overseas expansion.
In a glimpse of what is to come for the global rail industry, German industrial group Siemens had already pulled out of the bidding and joined China Southern’s consortium after realising it stood a better chance of winning part of the contract that way.