Saudi Arabia Moves Forward on $7B Rail Landbridge Project

Work has not been interrupted by the US-Israel war with Iran, but rather has sped up, according to some media reports. The railway has been under consideration for a number of years and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war serves to encourage building the project, which is now expected to be complete in 2034 at a total cost of $7 billion, although the entire overall project is seen as requiring an investment of $26.6 billion.

The Landbridge is intended to reduce the need to transport products and materials produced at Saudi Arabia’s two main industrial regions, Jubail and Yanbu, through the Strait of Hormuz on to global markets.

It will also offer a passenger rail service as well, with trains operating at up to 250 km/hour. Freight will travel at up to 160 km/hour. The new rail line will not offer high-speed service due to the dual nature of its usage.

Initially the Landbridge was set up as a public-private partnership, but that has evolved into a phased implementation strategy to increase flexibility of construction as well as to speed work up. SAR has divided the project into modular segments allowing section of the railway to proceed on rolling timelines. The project is in the advanced planning stage under Sener/Typsa, which is drawing up construction packages to be tendered at various times as the work progresses.

The Jubail-Dammam section of the railway was completed and inaugurated in April 2024.

The scope of work includes a new 950 km double track/mixed-traffic rail line between Jeddah and Riyadh. The existing network between Riyadh and Dammam covering 450 km will be upgraded, and extended rail lines between Damman and Jubail will be upgraded or added. A bypass will also be built around Riyadh connecting to links to port cities. There will also be rail extensions to the industrial city of Yanbu and to King Abdullah Port.

Working with Sener/Typsa is Hill International as a member of the project management consortium, along with Italy’s Italferr which contributed detail design when the project was under consideration in 2013-17.

The Saudi China Landbridge Consortium is tasked with delivering the project and is comprised of SAR, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), and Saudi company Al-Ayuni Contracting. The recent contractual development has reactivated engineering and localized structural deals under the supervision of the consortium. Some of the key early construction packages to be offered include viaducts, signaling, utilities and civil works along the 35 km Riyadh rail link. Work in the vicinity of the capital includes a 22.7 km single-track rail, a 265-m bridge over Highway HW615, and 118-m bridge over the Saudi Aramco pipelines.

The Landbridge is owned by the government of Saudi Arabia through SAR, the primary owner and operator, which is state-owned and fully controlled by the Public Investment Fund, the ultimate owner. The PIF’s role in the project is funding, strategic oversight, and integration into the other Vision 2030 initiatives. None of the contracted partners have an ownership stake in the project.