Saudi–Türkiye Regional Railway Through Jordan and Syria

Türkiye and Saudi Arabia aim to link their railways through Jordan and Syria, and on to Europe, within three or four years, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on 14 June 2026, Reuters reported.

The Announcement

In interviews with Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, Uraloğlu said the line would initially carry goods, oil, natural gas and passengers, and could also serve Hajj pilgrims. He said the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and possibly Yemen would join later; Railway PRO reported he also mentioned Iraq. He said the line could ease future problems from disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

The minister said the line from Saudi Arabia to the Jordanian border is complete, as is the link between Islahiye, Kilis and Gaziantep near the Syrian border, leaving a gap of about 400 km between Syria and Jordan. He said a financing plan would be drawn up, with about $100 million to rebuild the line between Türkiye and Aleppo, creating a direct link to Damascus. In an interview published by Asharq Al-Awsat on 22 June, he called a total cost figure premature, said technical studies should settle costs and financing by the end of 2026, and said the line would complement routes such as the Development Road through Iraq.

Agreements and Studies

On 9 June in Riyadh, Uraloğlu and Saudi Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser signed two memoranda of understanding, on logistics and on railways, Anadolu Agency and Asharq Al-Awsat reported; Anadolu listed areas from logistics centres to rail technology, infrastructure, training and human resources. Al-Jasser said in April that the feasibility study should be finished by the end of 2026 and that Saudi rail already reaches the Jordanian border at the Al Haditha crossing, Petra reported.

On 7 April in Amman, the transport ministers of Syria, Türkiye and Jordan signed a trilateral transport memorandum of understanding. SANA, citing his remarks to Anadolu, quoted Uraloğlu as saying they had agreed in principle to reactivate the Hejaz Railway, and that they wished to keep the Damascus–Jordan section as it is and turn it into a cultural and tourism line.

The Syrian Section

On 6 May, Syrian Transport Minister Yaarub Badr discussed the corridor with a delegation from a Turkish railway engineering company. In June, according to Al Jazeera Net, Badr said the Syrian and Saudi transport ministries were in contact on a regional rail link from Türkiye and Europe through Syria to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

On 6 August, Badr met the World Bank's new Middle East director. SANA said they discussed a CMA CGM proposal to study moving containers by rail from Latakia port to dry ports in Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, and that Badr put Syria's network at about 2,800 km: 2,500 km of standard gauge and 300 km of narrow gauge, with about 1,050 km of standard track operating. Al Jazeera Net noted he had earlier said only about 1,000 km was serviceable. It also reported that the ministry announced about $200 million in World Bank grant funding for railways in April, and that Badr put railway damage at about $5.5 billion.