GCC railway 56% complete, with operations targeted for December 2030

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said on November 8, 2026 that the 2,117 km GCC railway project was nearly 56% complete, with full operations targeted for December 2030. The network will link all six Gulf states and carry passengers and freight.

At a signing at Riffa Al Zahir Palace in Bahrain on November 8, representatives of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE signed a general agreement to advance the project.

The GCC Secretariat said the accord establishes a common framework for implementation and operation, with compatibility requirements intended to ensure national systems can function within a "single, integrated, and interoperable regional network."

What does the agreement change for operators and shippers?

The immediate institutional change is a common framework for implementing and operating each country’s railway section. For shippers, the stated benefit is a connected passenger and freight system, with an overland alternative to maritime routes affected by disruption.

Member states will implement and operate their national sections under the framework. The announcement named no commercial service operators or rolling-stock suppliers and gave no fleet quantities, procurement dates or staged service plan.

The intended cost outcome is lower shippers’ exposure to freight and insurance costs, but no tariff or quantified saving was announced. Albudaiwi’s 56% completion figure is an official progress claim; December 2030 remains a target, not a confirmed start date. No segment-level construction data was provided to test the completion rate.

Route and operating plan

The GCC Secretariat sets out the alignment in three linked stages:

• A Kuwait-to-Dammam spine in Saudi Arabia, with connections to Bahrain and Qatar.
• A Saudi Arabia-to-UAE route through Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
• An onward Oman leg through Sohar to Muscat.

According to the GCC Railways Authority, passenger trains are designed to travel at up to 200 km/h. Freight trains are designed to operate at 80-120 km/h. Those figures describe design speeds, not reported operating averages or capacity guarantees.

The mixed-use plan is intended to support trade, tourism and economic activity between Gulf countries. Earlier GCC Secretariat projections put potential traffic at more than 8 million passengers and 95 million tonnes of goods by 2045. The figures are forecasts for a future network, not current throughput, contracted demand or a delivery schedule.

UAE interfaces

The UAE’s regional connection is designed to join the country’s national railway infrastructure. The GCC Secretariat has previously confirmed that the UAE completed construction of its rail connection to the Saudi border.

The 238 km Hafeet Rail project, which the UAE and Oman are developing, will connect Sohar with the UAE’s national railway network. No completion date was announced for Hafeet Rail.

Why the agreement matters now

The accord comes as GCC governments seek stronger transport links and alternative supply routes following disruption to regional shipping. At a meeting of GCC transport ministers in Manama on November 8, Albudaiwi said interruptions to maritime corridors had raised shipping and insurance costs.

He thanked the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman for facilitating alternative routes for goods during the Iranian attacks. Albudaiwi said: "These endeavours contributed to providing alternative routes for the movement of goods and commodities and guaranteeing the continuity of supply chains to the rest of the GCC states."

That statement credits those routes with maintaining supply continuity to other GCC states, but no cargo volumes, route capacities or insurance savings were published.

Albudaiwi said integrating transport and diversifying supply routes would help member states respond to future crises and maintain market stability. He reported 5.7% real growth in the GCC transport and storage sector in 2025, placing it among the region’s fastest-growing non-oil activities. GCC leaders directed officials in April 2026 to prepare a study on stronger logistics integration.

The accord establishes common operating rules, but funding, procurement, operator appointments and the order in which national sections enter service remain unspecified. The next test is whether those decisions support the projected 8 million passengers and 95 million tonnes by 2045 while keeping the December 2030 full-operation target within reach.