Rail transport in Saudi Arabia

Rail transport in Saudi Arabia
250px Haramain High Speed Railway
Operation
National railway	Saudi Arabia Railways
Track gauge
Main	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Map Map of rail transport in Saudi Arabia as of 2009, including planned lines.

Rail transport in Saudi Arabia is an expanding mode of transport.

The Saudi Arabia Railways is the national railway operator. The Saudi Railways Organization was also formerly a major operator, however it was merged into the Saudi Railway Company (now Saudi Arabia Railways) in 2021.

History

The first railway in Arabia was the Hejaz Railway, constructed by the Ottoman Empire from the Damascus to Medina. This 1,050 mm (3 ft 5 ¹¹⁄₃₂ in) narrow gauge railway opened in 1908, but closed in 1920 due to the Arab Revolt.

Modern railways were introduced in Saudi Arabia after World War II, to facilitate the transport of goods for the Arabian American Oil Company, or Aramco (now Saudi Aramco), from ports located on the coast of the Persian Gulf to warehouses in Dhahran. Construction began in September 1947, and the first line was inaugurated on 20 October 1951. Several development projects have been completed since then, including an extension of the line to Riyadh, construction of several passenger terminals and the opening of a dry port in Riyadh.

The Saudi Railways Organization was merged into the new Saudi Arabia Railways on 1 April 2021.

Network

File:قطار الحرمين الشريفين.jpg

Haramain High Speed Railway

File:Train, SAR Riyadh-Dammam Station, Riyadh.jpg

SAR train at Riyadh-Dammam Station, Riyadh.

Haramain High Speed Railway

Main article: Haramain High Speed Railway

The Haramain High Speed Railway opened to the public on 11 October 2018, it links the Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca via the King Abdullah Economic City and Jeddah.

Saudi Landbridge

Main article: Saudi Landbridge Project

A new railway, called the Saudi Landbridge, will connect Jeddah on the Red Sea coast with the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

Dammam–Riyadh line

Main article: Dammam–Riyadh line

The Dammam–Riyadh line links Dammam with Riyadh. The passenger line starts operation in 1981 and is 449 km long, and has four stations. It was formerly operated by the Saudi Railways Organization.

Riyadh–Qurayyat Line

Main article: Riyadh–Qurayyat line

The Riyadh–Qurayyat line is built in 2012-2018, it begins at Riyadh and runs northwest toward Al Haditha near the Jordanian border, passing through Majma’a, Qassim, Hail and Al-Jawf. Both passenger and freight services are operating on this line. There are six passenger stations on the line which are in Riyadh at King Khaled International Airport, Majma’a, Qassim, Hail at Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mussa’ad Economic City, Al-Jawf, and Al-Qurayyat.

North-South line

Main article: North–South line (Saudi Arabia)

The North-South line runs from Al-Jalamid mine in the Northern province and then passes through Al-Jawf and Hail until Al Baithah Junction in Qassim province. The line then travels east to the processing and export facilities in Ras Al Khair in the Eastern Province. This line will be used solely by freight trains.

Rail links to adjacent countries

Same gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)

• United Arab Emirates — no connection, proposed as part of the Gulf Railway
• Qatar — no connection, proposed as part of the Gulf Railway
• Oman — no connection, proposed as part of the Gulf Railway
• Bahrain — no connection, proposed as part of the Gulf Railway
• Kuwait — no connection, proposed as part of the Gulf Railway
• Iraq — proposed

Break-of-gauge (1,050 mm (3 ft 5 ¹¹⁄₃₂ in)

• Jordan — North–South line terminates in Al-Haditha, close to the border

See also

• Saudi Arabia Railways
• Transport in Saudi Arabia