Gulf States Expected to Sign Railway Agreement in Manama on Sunday, Bahrain Says

Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, told The National that the agreement could be signed at a meeting of GCC transport ministers in Manama after extensive coordination between member states. He described it as one of the most significant steps yet towards building the long-delayed Gulf railway, and said the six countries had reached broad consensus on an integrated network.

The minister tied the urgency to recent crises that have disrupted supply chains and international shipping routes. With the Strait of Hormuz shut by the US-Iran war and tankers bound for Gulf ports coming under attack, an overland freight corridor between the six states has moved from a long-term integration project to a question of trade resilience.

The planned network runs about 2,100 kilometres and would connect the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, carrying both passengers and freight. It was first proposed more than a decade ago and is scheduled for completion by 2030, although each country is building its section at a different pace. The GCC Railways Authority, based in Riyadh, is coordinating with member states to harmonise technical specifications and track progress towards that date.

The UAE is furthest along. It has already built its national railway network, and work is under way on Hafeet Rail, a 238-kilometre line connecting Abu Dhabi with the Omani port of Sohar via Al Ain and Al Buraimi. Trial operations on the UAE-Oman line are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Bahrain's place in the network depends on the proposed King Hamad Causeway, a new road and rail link to Saudi Arabia that would give the island kingdom direct rail access to the wider GCC system and to regional ports and markets. Sheikh Abdulla confirmed that the two countries are working towards the rail connection.

The expected signing follows the GCC Supreme Council's approval of the general railway agreement in December 2025. Bahrain's Cabinet approved a draft law to ratify the agreement on November 2, one of the steps member states are taking to bring it into force.

The ministers meet in Manama on Sunday. Neither the minister nor the GCC has said what the agreement will commit member states to on funding or timelines, and those terms will show whether the 2030 target holds.