{"id":543965,"date":"2026-09-18T21:33:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T11:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=74426"},"modified":"2026-09-18T21:33:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T11:33:35","slug":"new-400-kilometre-saudi-freight-railway-to-link-to-emerging-red-sea-port","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=543965","title":{"rendered":"New 400-kilometre Saudi freight railway to link to emerging Red Sea port"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia is considering building a new freight railway that should connect an emerging Red Sea port. It is part of a major 500-billion-dollar regional economic diversification and development project.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Part of the project is Oxagon, a \u201creimagined industrial city\u201d according to the so-called Neom project. It will feature a 48-square-kilometre core development area, as well as a port on the Red Sea. It should connect to major population hubs across Asia, Europe, and Africa.<\/p>\n

The envisioned railway should connect the port to Saudi Arabia\u2019s north-south railway. It would be 400 kilometres in length. The Neom project has now issued an expression of interest, aiming to find consultants to make the railway a reality.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Enabling capacity expansion<\/h2>\n

With a rail connection, the Oxagon port could feature links to major Saudi population centres, such as capital city Riyadh. Moreover, the north-south railway already moves minerals to industrial hubs, and could also serve the new Red Sea port. Currently, the facility relies on road and maritime freight movements.<\/p>\n

Oxagon port has a capacity of 250,000 TEU annually, but Saudi Arabia wants to increase that to 1.5 million TEU by 2030. A rail connection is an important asset to facilitate such freight flows.<\/p>\n

Major investments have been completed at the site in recent years. This includes a $1 billion terminal and a Green Hydrogen project worth $8.5 billion. An AI data centre is now under construction.<\/p>\n

Hafeet Rail<\/h2>\n

While Saudi Arabia is preparing to build a new railway, neighbouring Oman and UAE are gearing up for the first trials on their new line. These trials are expected to start in late 2027. The so-called Hafeet Railway connects Omani port city Sohar with the UAE\u2019s rail network. It will serve both passenger and freight traffic.<\/p>\n

Importantly, Hafeet Rail bypasses the Strait of Hormuz and could bring freight to the oceans without Iranian interference. It reportedly reached 40% completion in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia is considering building a new freight railway that should connect an emerging Red Sea port. It is part of a major 500-billion-dollar regional\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10863,13849,343,21141,471,3859,21142,78,47,988,17182,2929],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-543965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia-europe","category-hafeet-rail","category-infrastructure","category-neom","category-news","category-oman","category-oxagon","category-rail-freight","category-rail-news","category-saudi-arabia","category-strait-of-hormuz","category-uae","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t