Saudi-Turkey rail link to be completed within 3 years: Turkish minister

Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said a railway connection between Saudi Arabia and Turkey is expected to be completed within the next three years.

In an interview in Riyadh, he said the project could eventually extend into Europe, adding that details regarding the cost of the Riyadh-Ankara rail link would become clear soon.

The Turkish minister revealed that the rail corridor would begin in Saudi Arabia and run through Jordan and Syria before reaching Turkey. He added that Iraq could also potentially become part of the project. According to Uraloğlu, Saudi Arabia has already extended its rail network to the Jordanian border, while Turkey has expanded its railway system as far as Syria.

“The only missing sections are those in Syria and Jordan,” he said. “That is what we are working on today as we examine the details and explore what can be achieved through cooperation to complete this four-country connection. It could eventually extend across the European continent.”

He also noted that Gulf countries would ultimately be connected to the Saudi-Turkey rail project.

The minister’s comments came after he signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh al-Jasser aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the railway sector.

At the same time, Uraloğlu said Riyadh and Ankara are discussing both rail and overland transport alternatives in light of current regional developments, particularly amid what he described as the “hot conflicts” taking place across the region.

Earlier, Saudi Transport Minister al-Jasser said that a feasibility study for a rail link connecting Saudi Arabia and Turkey via Jordan and Syria is expected to be completed before the end of this year. The project aims to revive a historic railway corridor and, according to specialists, could transform the region from a transit route into a major player in shaping trade flows between continents.

Amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to parts of global maritime shipping, projects aimed at creating alternative overland transport routes have gained renewed attention. Among them is the proposed railway connection, which would revive a route linked to a historic rail line connecting Turkey and Saudi Arabia through Jordan and Syria, with branch lines that once extended into Lebanon.

The new project is designed to connect regional markets and facilitate trade. It would build on Saudi Arabia’s existing railway network, which already reaches the Jordanian border through the Haditha crossing in the al-Jouf region. It would also complement Jordan’s planned north-south railway project and upgrades to existing rail infrastructure around Aqaba. The corridor would ultimately tie into broader logistics initiatives linked to Saudi Arabia’s NEOM development, which has unveiled plans for a trade and transport route connecting Europe, via Turkey, with the Gulf states and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding in Riyadh this week covering railway connectivity and logistics services. The agreement forms part of Saudi efforts to strengthen international partnerships and develop its rail transport sector, improve passenger transportation, enhance operational services, and increase supply-chain efficiency.

The initiative is aligned with Saudi Arabia’s National Transport and Logistics Strategy and Vision 2030, which seek to establish the Kingdom as a global logistics hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.

The agreement aims to deepen cooperation in railway standards, technologies, and related innovations. It also includes the exchange of expertise and best practices in the design, operation, and maintenance of railway projects, as well as collaboration on engineering, infrastructure development, safety standards, transport integration, and efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the railway sector.