Gulf States’ Rail Network: New Momentum and Open Questions

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Gulf States’ Rail Network: New Momentum and Open Questions.

An agreement in Manama, Bahrain, has turned a long-standing idea into a project with a clear route and named target year. Representatives of the participating states signed an agreement there to expand a shared rail network. The connection is to run from Kuwait in the north, through Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to southeastern Oman.

Bahrain’s crown prince Salman bin Hamad received the representatives of the states on the occasion. This sounds like a political signal, but says nothing about construction progress. The crucial factor is that the route and target year are now more concrete than they were in the previous national railway projects.

The Route Spans 2,100 Kilometers and Six States

The planned connection

The network is intended to follow the coast of the Persian Gulf and create a continuous corridor. In the north, the route begins in Kuwait. From there, it runs through Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, on to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Oman lies at the southeastern end of the Arabian Peninsula.

Passengers and freight

Trains on the connection, which is more than 2,100 kilometers long, are expected to serve both forms of transport: people and goods. The plan therefore expands from a purely freight corridor to a regional network that also includes passenger traffic.

The timetable

The sources give 2030 as the completion date. The target is therefore in the future, even though work on the network is already under way. A completed, continuously operational system must be distinguished from this.

The connection has been designed on a regional scale. Rather than planning exclusively national rail networks, the six Gulf states are intended to develop a shared axis. For the route from Kuwait to Oman, this is a project that would have to connect several infrastructure programs.

2009 Was the Starting Shot for Joint Construction

A long planning history

The basic idea is not new. Discussions about a shared network date back to the 1980s. In 2009, the six Gulf states agreed to expand it. The political agreement therefore predates the current announcements from Bahrain by a considerable margin.

The launch date was missed

The original target was for operations to begin in 2018. That date was not met. After the 2009 agreement, the six states made progress at differing speeds. The current undertaking therefore draws on a long-term plan whose first major implementation milestone has already passed.

Oil prices slowed investment

One reason for this was the sharp fall in oil prices during the 2010s. The Gulf monarchies depended heavily on oil exports. As revenues declined, they had to reconsider major infrastructure projects. This affected the financial scope from which rail expansion would also have to be funded.

The Qatar blockade made implementation more difficult

From 2017 onward, several countries led by Saudi Arabia imposed a blockade on Qatar. This made cooperation along the planned route even more difficult. Although the network’s course includes all six states, political relations between them were not unimpaired during this period.

Saudi Arabia and the Emirates Have Already Invested in Their Own Networks

Uneven progress on the national projects

So far, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have made the largest investments in their own rail networks. Two countries on the route therefore already have the greatest financial commitment and infrastructure in place. The planned shared corridor would connect to these national systems.

According to local media, Bahrain’s transport minister described the plans as an “investment in the future of the Gulf region and future generations”. This formulation places the long-term benefits at the center. However, the public framework says nothing about which section will be built first or how the individual national networks are to be synchronized.

The Iran War Makes the Land Route More Urgent

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

With the start of the Iran war in February and the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the project has acquired new urgency. The Gulf states export oil and liquefied gas, among other things, by sea. At the same time, they import goods and merchandise, including food, along this route. Against this backdrop, an additional land connection has immediate logistical importance.

Heavy losses also weaken the budget

The economic losses during the war, however, raise a different question: Can the countries still raise the funds needed for construction? The sources thus describe a conflict of objectives: Rail expansion is receiving greater emphasis because the sea route is under pressure. At the same time, the war is placing a strain on available resources.

The network therefore cannot simply replace existing maritime freight. It would create an additional axis. Whether it actually mitigates the security risks depends not only on the route, but also on whether the construction sections can be financed and scheduled.

The Open Task Lies Between Political Intent and Actual Completion

Greater clarity through the agreement

The signing in Manama, the concrete route of more than 2,100 kilometers and the completion date of 2030 make the network more tangible. At the same time, the missed launch date of 2018 confirms how much time has already passed since the first agreement in 2009.

The central open question

The costs were estimated at around US$250 billion in previous years. Given the high economic losses caused by the war, it remains unclear whether the participating states can provide the additional capital. The question is therefore less whether the Gulf states want a shared rail network than how they will finance it and implement it on time.

More Value for You

The two reports provided contextualize the same project differently: One highlights the current momentum created by the Iran war and the blocked Strait of Hormuz, while the other places the long history of planning at the center. Together, they provide a clear picture of the route, scale and target date — but still no answer on financing.

• Handelsblatt: Logistics in the Gulf Countries
• Additional Report