Saudi Arabia approves high-speed rail connecting Riyadh to Doha

The Saudi cabinet has approved a high-speed electric rail project linking the kingdom with Qatar, paving the way for a 785-kilometre line connecting Riyadh and Doha.

The agreement formalises plans for a cross-border passenger railway designed to cut travel time between the two capitals to around two hours.

Trains are expected to operate at speeds exceeding 300 kilometres per hour, making overland travel competitive with short-haul flights, which currently take around 90 minutes.

The project was initially signed in late December during the eighth meeting of the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council in Riyadh, co-chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Al Yamamah Palace.

According to Qatari state media, the railway will pass through major Saudi cities, including Al-Hofuf and Dammam, before continuing to Doha.

The line will directly connect King Salman International Airport in Riyadh with Hamad International Airport in Doha, integrating rail and long-haul air travel.

The system is planned as a fully electric high-speed line, framed by officials as a low-emission and sustainable transport corridor aligned with both countries' economic diversification and climate agendas.

The high-speed line is projected to serve more than 10 million passengers annually and create roughly 30,000 direct and indirect jobs across both countries over the life of the project.

Officials expect the railway to be completed within six years.

The move reflects growing economic and transport cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which is being positioned as one of the most significant cross-border infrastructure integration projects between the two Gulf states.

The railway also carries symbolic weight in the context of Saudi-Qatari relations, which have historically been volatile, alternating between close alignment and sharp diplomatic rifts.

This culminated in the 2017 blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain, ending with the Al-Ula Declaration in 2021 that saw a strengthening in relations between Riyadh and Doha.