Gulf States Sign Agreement to Advance 2,100km Railway Linking All Six GCC Members

The agreement was signed at Al Zahir Palace during the 30th meeting of GCC transport ministers. Bahrain's Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, said it was an essential step toward completing the legal and regulatory work the railway needs before it can go ahead, describing the project as "an investment in the future of the Gulf and its generations".

The signing matters because the Gulf railway has long been held up less by engineering than by the need for six governments to agree common rules. Ahead of the meeting, Bahrain's minister had said that accelerating the project had become a Gulf priority and stressed the need to complete the regulatory and legislative frameworks. The document, known in pre-signing reports as the General Railway Agreement, sets out the obligations of each member state for a single network.

The planned line would run about 2,100km from Kuwait in the north to Oman in the south. Reports before the signing put its length at 2,117km, with full operations targeted for December 2030 and completed cross-border sections possibly opening earlier. Passenger trains are expected to run at about 200km/h and freight trains at 80 to 120km/h, according to an analysis by BETH Analysis cited in those reports. No overall cost has been published.

GCC Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi called the agreement an important step towards Gulf integration in transport. Sheikh Abdulla said it would open up "broader prospects for trade, investment and travel" between member states.

Parts of the network are already taking shape at national level. The UAE has launched its national railway, and Oman is building its cross-border link with the UAE through the 238km Hafeet Rail project, which connects the port of Sohar with Abu Dhabi via Al Buraimi and Al Ain and is expected to begin trial operations in 2027. Bahrain's connection depends on the proposed King Hamad Causeway, a new fixed link to Saudi Arabia designed to carry both road and rail traffic.

The war that began in late February, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, has given the project fresh commercial weight. Iran has imposed a de facto blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, and all six Gulf states have come under Iranian missile and drone attacks. In an interview with The National, Sheikh Abdulla said ship calls at Bahrain's Khalifa bin Salman Port had fallen and that the kingdom had leaned more on road transport and alternative ports, including Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia, Sohar and Duqm in Oman, and Fujairah in the UAE.

The agreement must still be ratified by member states. Bahrain's cabinet approved a draft law ratifying it on November 2, and each government's own legislative process will determine how quickly the remaining regulatory work can be finished ahead of the 2030 target.