A vast railway project that is estimated to cost about £191bn will connect six countries in Eastern Arabia and is set to be completed in 2030.
The rail network will be 2,177km long and connect the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
Known as the Gulf Railway Project, it was approved in December 2009 and the original deadline was 2018. However, in 2016, this was pushed back to 2021.
According to the GCC’s plan, trains carrying passengers will travel at speeds up to 220km/hour and freight trains will go at speeds between 80 and 120km/hour.
Fanack, an independent media organisation, said each country in the GCC will fund the construction of the railway infrastructure in its own territory. This means they are each able to decide “whether private or government entities will build, operate, and invest in their railways.”
Progress has been slow, but in April 2024, Hafeet Rail announced that it had begun the implementation phase of the project connecting Oman with the UAE.
In November of that year, Qatar’s transport minister, Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, said the project had progressed and was aiming for a 2030 completion date.
“Collaborative efforts ensure development benefits reach all societies in member nations,” he said.
During the November meeting of the Committee of GCC Ministers of Transport and Communication, the GCC’s Secretary General, His Excellency Mr Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, said the countries had achieved “practical steps” for the project on the ground.
He said: “According to the results of a study on the expected volume and movement of passengers and goods on the GCC railway project, the number of passengers using the GCC railway network is expected to exceed 8 million in 2045. The volume of goods expected to be transported through this project will reach 95 million tons in 2045.”
The railway is planned to begin in Kuwait and extend to Dammam on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, where the network will split into two directions. One will head towards Bahrain, then Qatar, and the other will head towards the southern Saudi coast.
A converging of the two paths is planned at Salwa Port, between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The route will then continue south to Abu Dhabi, then into the desert towards the UAE-Oman border and further to Sohar and Muscat on Oman’s shores.