{"id":161879,"date":"2026-06-16T00:04:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/161879\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T00:04:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:04:31","slug":"turkiye-saudi-arabia-aim-to-build-rail-link-with-jordan-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/161879\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u00fcrkiye, Saudi Arabia aim to build rail link with Jordan, Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\u00fcrkiye and Saudi Arabia aim to build a railway to link the two countries with Jordan and \u200bSyria in the next three or four years, a senior official said on Sunday, \u2060adding other Gulf countries would also \u2060join the project.<\/p>\n

The railway would help alleviate in future the problems that \u200bhave arisen from the disruption of the \u200bStrait of \u2060Hormuz caused by the war in Iran, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uralo\u011flu told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

The project is described in a memorandum of understanding signed between Ankara and Riyadh<\/a> last week on logistics cooperation and the railway sector.<\/p>\n

In the initial phase, a rail link would allow for the transport of goods, oil, natural gas and people between Saudi Arabia, T\u00fcrkiye, Jordan, Syria and Europe, Uralo\u011flu said.<\/p>\n

He added that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and possibly Yemen would be included later \u2060too.<\/p>\n

“A \u2060train leaving from Saudi Arabia, from Riyadh already reaches several regions of Saudi Arabia. So this is a project for it to reach T\u00fcrkiye via Jordan and Syria,” Uralo\u011flu was cited as saying.<\/p>\n

“We are talking about a route that will carry every type of freight via this route to Europe,” he noted.<\/p>\n

Uralo\u011flu’s remarks came as talks have been intensifying about the historic Hejaz Railway, which had linked Istanbul to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, as well as Damascus and parts of Yemen.<\/p>\n

It was originally constructed between 1900 and 1908 under Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II and stretched approximately 1,750 kilometers.<\/p>\n

Designed to facilitate pilgrimage to Mecca, the railway also served strategic military and administrative purposes, bolstering Ottoman control over distant provinces.<\/p>\n

Though largely dismantled or damaged during World War I and subsequent conflicts, portions of the railway remain intact and have long been the subject of restoration efforts.<\/p>\n

Uralo\u011flu said the route from Saudi Arabia to Jordan’s border \u2060had been finished and on the Turkish side, the link was completed from Islahiye to Kilis and Gaziantep in southeastern T\u00fcrkiye, near the border with Syria.<\/p>\n

That \u200bleaves a gap of some 400 kilometers (248.55 miles) between Syria and Jordan, \u200bhe said.<\/p>\n

In addition to commercial trade, Uralo\u011flu said the railway could also be used by people on the \u2060annual \u200cMuslim hajj pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye, \u200cwhich neighbors Syria, has built close ties \u2060with the government in Damascus after the \u200cfall of longtime dictator Bashar Assad at the end of 2024 and has \u200bsaid it will help the country \u2060rebuild.<\/p>\n

Uralo\u011flu told Al Jazeera a financial plan \u2060would be drawn up for the rail project.<\/p>\n

The investment \u2060would include some $100 million \u200bto rebuild the route between T\u00fcrkiye and Syria’s Aleppo, creating a direct link to Damascus.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

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