The Qatar Cabinet has officially approved the long-awaited plan to construct a railway connecting Doha to Saudi Arabia. The decision was made during the weekly cabinet meeting on October 8, chaired by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

This railway will mark Qatar’s first mainline rail network. The planned line will span approximately 100 kilometers, stretching from Doha to Abu Samra at the Saudi border. Here, it will link with the future Gulf Railway section running from Dammam south to Ghuwaifat on the UAE border, providing a seamless connection to the existing Etihad Rail network reaching Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Fujairah.

Qatar’s 2050 Transport Plan also envisions a passenger rail line connecting the new Doha Main International Rail Terminal to Hamad International Airport. Additionally, a freight branch line will run from the Saudi connection to Hamad Port and Mesaieed Industrial City south of Doha.

The Gulf Railway project aims to establish a continuous rail corridor from Kuwait through Dammam to the UAE and Muscat, Oman, by 2030. Plans also include a 45-kilometer branch line across a causeway from Dammam to Bahrain, further enhancing regional connectivity.