Four nations restart work on century-old Hejaz Railway line

Fieldwork begins on historic route

Technical delegations from four countries have launched joint fieldwork to revive the Hejaz Railway, the historic rail line first commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II to link Anatolia with the holy cities of the Arabian Peninsula. Teams from Türkiye, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia began on-site work after Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu signed a series of memorandums with his counterparts in Damascus, Amman and Riyadh. According to information obtained on the project, Türkiye's section of the line, which runs to the Syrian border, is already in active use and requires little additional work before the route can resume cross-border service.

Syrian section poses the biggest challenge

The largest remaining obstacle lies inside Syria. The 110-kilometer stretch between İslahiye and Aleppo sustained damage during the country's civil war, while the Aleppo-Damascus segment is described as repairable within a short timeframe through renovation work. The most significant new investment is required between Syria and Jordan, where roughly 400 kilometers of entirely new track must be built. The Saudi portion of the route, by contrast, is reported to be largely ready, requiring comparatively minor intervention before trains could run from the kingdom through Jordan and Syria into Türkiye and onward to Europe.

Three-year completion target, freight first

Delegations from the four countries are continuing negotiations and are expected to finalize both the technical design and financing structure of the Hejaz Railway project by the end of this year, with construction targeted for completion within three years of final agreements. Freight transport has been identified as the initial priority for the revived line, followed by tourism and pilgrimage travel to Mecca and Medina. Officials say the project's relevance has grown sharply amid disruption to Gulf shipping routes tied to the Iran-U.S. standoff and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

Wider Gulf and Red Sea ambitions

Beyond the core Türkiye-Syria-Jordan-Saudi Arabia corridor, planners envision eventually linking Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman to the network, alongside new maritime connections to the Sea of Oman, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Parallel plans under discussion include a highway running the same route, along with energy transmission and communication infrastructure. Saudi Arabia is reported to be planning a second corridor linking the kingdom to Iraq and, from there, to Iraq's Development Road project, positioning Riyadh as a hub for goods moving from South Asia and the Far East toward Europe via Oman and the Hejaz line.

Regional voices call it a strategic turning point

Syrian researcher and author Vael Ulvan said recent developments in Syria have restored the Hejaz Railway's strategic significance, arguing the line would give Türkiye stronger access to Arab markets through its industrial base while positioning Syria, with its skilled workforce, as an attractive destination for Turkish investment. Jordanian lawmaker Bayan Fakhyr described the project as more than a transport investment, calling it "a strategic vision capable of shaping the political, economic, and geopolitical future of the Islamic world." She added that the railway could boost trade, ease the movement of people, strengthen ties between mining and agricultural regions and their markets, and improve access to education hubs such as Damascus, Baghdad, and Istanbul for students from remote areas.

Jordanian Member of Parliament, Ms. Fakhyr

Gulf security dimension after Hormuz tensions

Saudi international relations professor Abdulfettah Muhammed Saad said the railway would function as a soft-power tool strengthening diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Jordan and Syria, while helping Syria emerge from years of regional isolation and expanding Saudi economic influence in the Levant. He estimated rail freight could cut transport costs by 25 to 40 percent compared with sea shipping, and said the project supports Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goal of becoming a regional logistics hub, while gaining added strategic weight for Gulf states following recent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Abdulfattah Muhammad Saad

Istanbul Medeniyet University academic Prof. Dr. Veysel Kurt said the revival would reinforce Türkiye's position as a central hub, noting the project holds an advantage over competing regional transport corridors if it eventually extends to Palestine, Iraq and Oman.

Professor Veysel Kurt, Faculty Member at Istanbul Medeniyet University.

Israel is out of the equation

The revival of the Hejaz Railway project has effectively sidelined the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project. The Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported that Saudi Arabia is seeking a new route for the IMEC project, which planned to run from India through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to the Eastern Mediterranean. Based on unnamed sources, the report suggests that due to Israel's attacks on Gaza and the loss of momentum in the normalization of Israeli-Saudi Arabian relations, Riyadh aims to exclude Israel from the project and instead involve Syria. According to the sources, following the announcement of the project, Saudi officials are actively considering alternative routes that would exclude Israel due to the significant changes in regional conditions.