Officials said the new “high-speed electric passenger railway” will directly connect Riyadh and Doha, with Al-Hofuf and Dammam also added to the route. The train is designed to exceed 300 kilometres per hour, reducing the journey between the two capitals to around two hours. A direct flight currently takes roughly 90 minutes.

According to Saudi authorities, the project is planned for completion within six years and is expected to serve nearly 10 million passengers annually.

The agreement was signed in Riyadh during the visit of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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This rail pact marks another step in the remarkable improvement in relations between the two countries. Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, had cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017.

Those ties were fully restored in January 2021 after the ‘AlUla declaration’ signed in ‘41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit’. Since then, leaders of both states have held regular meetings and supported joint diplomatic efforts, including calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Riyadh also expressed support for Qatar following Israeli strikes on Doha over the summer, showing how far the two states have moved from past tensions.