Saudi Arabia railway projects: the complete guide (2026)

Saudi Arabia is running the largest railway build-out in the Gulf. In barely two years the kingdom has opened a 176 km driverless metro in Riyadh, ordered 20 new high-speed trains for the Haramain line and moved several mega-projects, including the Saudi Landbridge and Riyadh Metro Line 7, to the contract-award stage. This guide brings the main Saudi railway projects together in one place: what is in service, what is being built, who supplies the signalling and rolling stock, and which milestones to watch in 2026 and 2027. It is updated every month.

Key figures at a glance

• Riyadh Metro: 6 lines, 176 km, 85 stations, 183 driverless trains, fully open since 5 January 2025
• Haramain High Speed Railway: 453 km between Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah, up to 300 km/h, 10 million passengers in 2025
• Northern Railway Network: about 2,700 km from Riyadh to Al Qurayyat
• Riyadh Metro Line 7: about 65 km and 19 stations, contract award imminent
• Riyadh–Doha high-speed rail: 785 km planned at up to 300 km/h

Riyadh Metro: a 176 km driverless network

The Riyadh Metro opened in three stages: Lines 1, 4 and 6 on 1 December 2024, Lines 2 and 5 on 15 December 2024 and Line 3 on 5 January 2025. With six lines and 85 stations opened in a single programme, it is one of the largest metro systems ever commissioned at once.

All 183 trains run at the highest grade of automation, with no driver on board, under communications-based train control (CBTC) and behind platform screen doors at every station. Siemens Mobility supplied Inspiro trains for Lines 1 and 2, built by the BACS consortium. Alstom supplied Metropolis and Innovia trains for Lines 3 to 6, built by the ArRiyadh New Mobility and FAST consortiums. The network is designed for up to 3.6 million passengers a day.

Expansion has already started. The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has awarded the USD 900m extension of Line 2, and the new Line 7 is about to be awarded (see below). For a technical explanation of what unattended GoA4 operation involves, see our report on the GoA4 conversion of Paris Metro Line 13.

Riyadh Metro Line 7: the next big contract

Line 7 will run for about 65 km, 47 km underground and 19 km elevated, with 19 stations. It will link Qiddiya Entertainment City, King Abdullah International Gardens, King Salman Park, Misk City and Diriyah Gate. According to MEED, four consortiums submitted best and final offers on 21 June 2026:

• Alstom, Webuild, Nesma and China Harbour Engineering Company
• Siemens, FCC, Orascom Construction and Shibh Al-Jazira
• Hitachi Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Albawani, Kalyon and Cengiz
• CRRC, Mapa and Limak

The outcome will show whether Riyadh keeps the two-supplier model of its first network or opens the door to Hitachi Rail or CRRC. The project management consultancy contract was awarded separately in July 2025. Read our full analysis: Riyadh Metro Line 7, the four consortiums in the running.

Haramain High Speed Railway

The 453 km Haramain line links Makkah, Jeddah, King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Abdullah Economic City and Madinah at up to 300 km/h. It carried a record 10 million passengers in 2025, including more than 2 million during the Hajj season, according to International Railway Journal.

In February 2026 Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) ordered 20 new Talgo trains worth about EUR 1.3bn, each with 417 seats. The Spanish Al-Shoula consortium, including Renfe, Adif and Talgo, will operate and maintain the line until 2038.

Saudi Landbridge and the national network

The Northern Railway Network already covers about 2,700 km between Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Al Jouf and Al Qurayyat, carrying both passengers and minerals. SAR has tendered 10 new passenger trains to roughly triple capacity on this network.

The flagship project is the Saudi Landbridge, a freight and passenger corridor between the Red Sea at Jeddah and the Gulf, to be completed in phases before 2034. Its first civil-works package, a 35 km double-track section in Riyadh linking the North–South Railway to the Eastern Railway, is close to award, with four groups in the running according to MEED.

High-speed links to Qiddiya and Doha

Riyadh has launched an expression of interest for a 250 km/h line to Qiddiya via King Salman International Airport, to be delivered as a public-private partnership. Further east, Saudi Arabia and Qatar plan a 785 km Riyadh–Doha high-speed line at up to 300 km/h between the two capitals' airports. For high-speed rolling stock suppliers, the kingdom has become a key market: Stadler, for example, has ordered 50 Rolls-Royce mtu engines for Saudi trains.

Light rail and new metros

• Jeddah Metro Blue Line: about 35 km and 15 stations between King Abdulaziz International Airport and the Haramain station, first phase of construction from 2027
• AlUla tramway: a heritage-site tram project designed to run without overhead wires through the historic zone

An engineer's view: what to watch

Saudi Arabia is building networks from scratch, which lets it choose current technology: CBTC with unattended operation in the cities, and high-speed lines designed for 300 km/h. The real challenges are interfaces and integration. Each new line has to work with the existing operations control centres, depots and fare systems, and the Landbridge has to connect two previously separate national networks. Watch the signalling choices in the Line 7 and Landbridge awards: they will shape the Saudi market for the next decade.

Milestones to watch

• Riyadh Metro Line 7: award of the main contract (expected in 2026)
• Saudi Landbridge, Riyadh section: civil-works award (expected in 2026)
• Northern Network: award of the 10-train order
• Jeddah Metro Blue Line: start of construction in 2027
• Haramain: delivery of the first new Talgo trains

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Riyadh Metro?

The Riyadh Metro has six lines totalling 176 km and 85 stations. All trains are driverless.

How fast is the Haramain train?

The Haramain High Speed Railway runs at up to 300 km/h over 453 km between Makkah and Madinah.

What is the Saudi Landbridge?

It is a planned rail corridor linking the Red Sea port of Jeddah with Riyadh and the Gulf coast, built in phases before 2034.

More rail news from the region: Middle East · UAE high-speed rail.

Last updated: 7 October 2026. Sources: Urban Transport Magazine; International Railway Journal, 9 February 2026; MEED, 24 June and 31 August 2026; Gulf Business, 22 January 2026.

AI-generated illustration.