Saudi Arabia, Turkiye working to revive Ottoman-era Hejaz Railway
Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are working on a project that will not only connect the two countries via high speed Railway network but will also revive the Ottoman-era Hejaz railway-line that once aimed to link Istanbul to the holy cities Makkah and Madinah
Riyadh/Ankara: Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are working on a project that will not only connect the two countries via high speed Railway network but will also revive the Ottoman-era Hejaz railway-line that once aimed to link Istanbul to the holy cities Makkah and Madinah.
Studies focusing the railway link that would connect Saudi Arabia to Turkiye via Jordan and Syria are set to be completed before the end of the year, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Saleh al-Jasser said.
Speaking to Saudi television Al Arabiya, Saleh al-Jasser said the project would "enhance regional integration, support trade, and develop a sustainable land transport system between countries of the region."
Saudi Arabia’s national railway network currently extends to the Jordanian border via the al-Haditha crossing, making it a strategic focal point for future expansion into regional and international connectivity, Saleh al-Jasser said.
The minister emphasized that Saudi Arabia’s ports and corridors "were working in an integrated manner to ensure the continuation of regional trade and facilitate the movement of goods between countries."
Saudi Arabia "could receive over 17 million containers annually," he said, stressing the importance of the Saudi ports in receiving containers transferred from Gulf states.
Hejaz Railway
The Hejaz Railway was one of the region’s most prominent historical infrastructure projects, built between 1900 and 1908, stretching about 1,322 kilometers from Damascus southwards to the City of Prophet (Peace be upon him) Madinah, with Damascus serving as a key hub. From there, lines branched north towards Aleppo and Turkey, and west towards Lebanon, particularly Beirut, making the network an interconnected regional system.
Designed to facilitate pilgrimage to Makkah, the railway also served strategic military and administrative purposes, bolstering Ottoman control over distant provinces.
The line featured engineering feats such as stone viaducts, desert stations and narrow-gauge tracks adapted to harsh terrain. Though largely dismantled or damaged during World War I and subsequent conflicts, portions of the railway remain intact and have long been the subject of restoration efforts.
The project announced by al-Jasser is seen as a revival and modern extension of Hejaz Railway. It revives a route linked to a historic railway connecting Turkey to Saudi Arabia via Jordan and Syria, with branch lines that also extended to Lebanon known as Hejaz Railway in Ottoman Caliphate.
Back in September 2025, Türkiye, Syria and Jordan had signed an agreement to revive the historic Hejaz railway line, marking a major step toward restoring regional connectivity and preserving shared heritage, according to Türkiye's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, according to Daily Sabah.
Abdulkadir Uraloglu had earlier also said that Ankara was planning to establish a wider transport corridor stretching from southern Europe to the Gulf as part of efforts to revive the historic Hejaz Railway.
Abdulkadir Uraloglu, the first phase would focus on upgrading the Turkey-Syria-Jordan line as the backbone of the project. The route would then extend southwards, eventually linking with Saudi Arabia’s rail network and reaching Riyadh.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani confirmed the latest development.
"We have established a new phase by signing the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkey to activate land corridors. We are working on reviving the Hejaz Railway, restarting the Arab Gas Pipeline, and implementing electrical interconnection, alongside coordination with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding regional digital connectivity", he said.
[Aneequa Sabahat Faizee is Staff Writer at ummid.com]
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