Gulf Railway

The Gulf Railway, also known as the GCC Railway, is a proposed railway system to connect all six Gulf Cooperation Council member states in Eastern Arabia. The rail network will have a total length of 2,177 km. The project is estimated to cost US$250 billion.^[1] It was scheduled to be completed by 2025,^[2] although as of 2023, construction work has yet to start.^[3]

Each of the six GCC member states is responsible for implementing the portion of the project that lies within its territory, and will construct its own railway lines and branches, stations and freight terminals. The cost will be shared by the six countries in proportion to the length of the rail network in each country. As a result, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will spend the most on the project, followed by Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. The Saudi Railway Company will develop the network in Saudi Arabia, Etihad Rail in the UAE, Oman Rail in Oman, and Qatar Rail in Qatar.^[4]

The project has met hurdles on account of challenges with the financing of the project exacerbated by volatile oil prices, and lack of alignment of the interests of the six states involved. The expected date of completion of the project is uncertain, given the lack of clarity on the exact scale and operating model of the venture.^[5]