Green light for high-speed electric rail linking Riyadh to Doha

• Line to be completed in six years
• Connection time two hours
• Saudi scaling back giga-projects

The Saudi government has given the green light for a high-speed electric railway that will connect Riyadh to Doha.

The cabinet ratified an agreement signed in December by Saudi Arabia and Qatar to build the rail link, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

No financial details have been disclosed. 

The railway, covering 785km, will connect the two capitals in two hours. The project is expected to reach completion in six years.

The track will pass through key stations including Hofuf and Dammam, and will link King Salman International Airport, serving Riyadh, with Doha’s Hamad International Airport.

The rail connection is forecast to add SAR115 billion ($30.6 billion) to the GDP of both countries, serve over 10 million passengers annually, and create more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, the report said.

The announcement comes as the Saudi flagship giga-project Neom has been officially pushed down the pecking order as the kingdom switched focus to deadline-driven plans such as the 2034 World Cup and Expo 2030, and vital infrastructure links, due to tighter budgets.

Further reading:

• Neom offers financial guarantees to lure private investors
• PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs
• Riyadh hopes to entice private sector to landmark projects 

“Some projects may be postponed and others accelerated. And if they are less viable, the projects’ scope may be reduced,” investment minister Khalid Al Falih told a panel at the PIF Private Sector Forum in Riyadh.

The UAE is also preparing to roll out passenger services this year on the multibillion-dollar Etihad Rail network, linking 11 cities with trains carrying up to 400 passengers at speeds of 200 kilometres per hour.

Progress on a fully integrated GCC rail network, scheduled to arrive by 2031, is at various stages. The Hafeet rail line between Oman and the UAE is the only cross-border link under construction, while Kuwait has begun design work on its leg.