Transport in Saudi Arabia is facilitated through a relatively young system of roads, railways and seaways. Most of the network started construction after the discovery of oil in the Eastern Province in 1952, with the notable exception of Highway 40, which was built to connect the capital Riyadh to the economically productive Eastern Province, and later to the Islamic holy city of Mecca and the port city of Jeddah. With the economic growth of the 1970s, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has initiated many infrastructure development projects across the country, and the extensive development of the transportation network has followed suit in support of various economic developments.
The Eastern Province, also known as the Eastern Region, is the easternmost of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the nation's largest province by area and the third most populous after the Riyadh and Mecca provinces. In 2017, the population was 4,900,325. Of these, 3,140,362 were Saudi citizens and 1,759,963 were foreign nationals The province accounts for 15.05% of the entire population of Saudi Arabia and is named for its geographical location relative to the rest of the kingdom.
Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. With a population of 1,532,300 as of 2022, Dammam is the kingdom's fourth-most populous city after Riyadh, Jeddah, and Mecca. Dammam constitutes the core of the Dammam metropolitan area, also known as the Greater Dammam area, which comprises the 'Triplet Cities' of Dammam, Dhahran, and Khobar. The region is closely linked to the city through social, economic, and cultural ties. As of 2022, the Dammam metropolitan area's population was 2,743,318.
Jubail is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, with a total population of 474,679 as of 2022. It is home to one of the largest industrial cities in the world. It is also home to the Middle East's largest and world's fourth largest petrochemical company SABIC. It has the world's largest IWPP producing 2743.6 MW of electricity and 800,000 m3 of water daily.
The Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) was a state-owned railway company that operated part of Saudi Arabia's rail network, along with the Saudi Railway Company. The SRO operated a network of railways with a total length of approximately 1,380 kilometers. The network consisted of two main lines. A 449 km passenger line that links Dammam with Riyadh, and a 556 km freight line that connects the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam with Riyadh.
Jeddah Islamic Port is a Saudi Arabian port, located in Jeddah on the Red Sea, at the middle of an international shipping route between the east and west via the Suez Canal. It is the second-largest and second-busiest port in the Arab world. The city of Jeddah is the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia, and is Saudi Arabia's commercial capital.
The Dammam–Riyadh line is a passenger railway line in Saudi Arabia, linking the Eastern Province's capital city of Dammam with the Saudi capital Riyadh. The 449 km (279 mi) line has four stations. It is owned and operated by Saudi Arabia Railways.
The Gulf Railway, also known as the GCC Railway, is a proposed railway system to connect all six Gulf Cooperation Council member states in Eastern Arabia. The rail network will have a total length of 2,177 km. The project is estimated to cost US$250 billion. It was scheduled to be completed by 2030, although as of 2023, construction work has yet to start.
The Mecca Metro or Makkah Metro is a metro system with four planned lines in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Metro was constructed by China Railway Construction Corporation and is run by Mecca Mass Rail Transit Company (MMRTC). The metro forms part of the 62-billion-riyal Mecca Public Transport Programme (MPTP), which will include integrated bus services.
Rail transport in Saudi Arabia is an expanding mode of transport.
Ras Al-Khair is a town and port currently under development in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It is on the eastern coast, 60 km (37 mi) north of Jubail. It is also known under its project name of "Minerals Industrial City".
The SAR North–South Railway line is a 2,750 km network of railway lines in central and eastern Saudi Arabia, built and operated by the Saudi Railway Company. The primary line of the network connects the capital of the kingdom, Riyadh, to the border with Jordan at Al Hadithah.
The Dammam metropolitan area, or Greater Dammam, is the largest metropolitan area in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It consists of "The Triplet Cities" of Dammam, Khobar, Dhahran, Qatif and their vicinities. It had a population of 2,742,800 as of the 2022 census. It is known for the arts, pearl culturing, entertainment and popular music and sports legacies. The area includes a variety of natural landscapes, parks, and beaches with a recreational coastline to the Persian Gulf. The Greater Dammam area is also known for being one of the cornerstones of the oil industry with the world's largest oil company and most valuable company, Saudi Aramco, being based in Dhahran, as a result of the first oil well being dug in the area.
Highway 40 is a major east–west six-lane controlled-access highway in Saudi Arabia, spanning 1,395 km. The highway connects Jeddah, the second-largest city in the kingdom, on the western coast of Saudi Arabia to Dammam, the sixth-largest city on the eastern coast and the largest in the Eastern Province. Apart from Jeddah and Dammam, Highway 40 also runs near or through Mecca, Ta'if, Riyadh, Abqaiq and Khobar along its length, and provides access to the Mahazat as-Sayd and Saja and Umm Al Ramth wildlife sanctuaries.
The Riyadh Metro is a rapid transit system under construction in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport and will consist of six metro lines spanning a total length of 176 kilometres (109 mi), with 84 stations. The project will cost $22.5 billion to build. According to the Saudi minister of transport, Riyadh Metro is expected to open to passengers in 2024. However, it was later postponed to early 2025.
Saudi Arabia Railways, formerly the Saudi Railway Company, is the national railway company of Saudi Arabia. It is de facto a state-owned enterprise, as it is owned by the Public Investment Fund.
King Abdul Aziz Port, also known as Dammam Port, is a port in the city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. It is the largest port in the Persian Gulf, and the third largest and third busiest port in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, after the Jeddah Islamic Port. King Abdul Aziz Port is a major export center for the oil industry, and also a key distribution center for major landlocked cities in the country, particularly the capital cities of provinces, such as Riyadh which is linked to Dammam by a railway line.
Dammam Station is the railway station serving the city of Dammam. It is the eastern terminus of the Dammam–Riyadh Line and one of the three railway stations with active passenger transport in the Eastern Province. The station also serves as the station of operations for the Saudi Railway Company (SAR).
