The General Organization of Railways has called on companies and institutions that ship their goods on the organization’s trains to comply with established and accepted regulations and rules.
In a statement on this matter, the Corporation announced that it will impose fees on non-compliant cargo for failure to meet requirements, effective mid-Shawwal.
Mohammed Abu Zeid, Director of Public Relations and Media at the Corporation, said, “The Corporation has observed that some shipments arriving from abroad via King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam—which are then transported by train to the dry port in Riyadh—do not comply with the requirement to place cargo inside containers on pallets,”thereby violating established procedures designed to ensure the safety of the goods during transport, handling, and presentation for customs inspection, as well as their subsequent return. This also reduces the effort and time required to complete shipping procedures.
Abu Zeid stated that the Authority will collect fees from cargo owners for failing to stack their cargo on pallets, at a rate of 350 riyals per 20-foot container or smaller, and 750 riyals for containers longer than 20 feet, in accordance with the regulations in effect at the General Authority for Ports. This measure will take effect on the 15th of the coming month of Shawwal.
The Authority attributed its decision to the rise in the number of containers arriving at the Riyadh Dry Port in recent years and the accompanying increase in the volume of unstacked cargo that does not comply with established regulations, as the cargo inside the containers is loose and packed haphazardly, making it difficult to handle when preparing it for customs inspection, in addition to the resulting delays and the occupation of a large amount of yard space, not to mention the risk of spoilage or damage during transport from the country of origin to traders’ warehouses and the lack of accountability for such damage when it is discovered during unloading, not to mention the difficulty of restacking the entire contents of the container exactly as they were packed in the country of origin, with the possibility that a significant portion of the contents may remain outside the container.