Newsletter: Mega rail projects are transforming the Middle East

Welcome to my second newsletter,

I am excited to share this railway-themed newsletter. As an enthusiast of everything Middle Eastern, a black-and-white photo galvanized my attention last year while scrolling cultural and history pages on Facebook.

The photo showcased different Arabs or Middle Easterners from all walks of life sitting on a train that connects Turkey, Syria, and Saudi.

The photo made me nostalgic for an era when my grandparents weren't born and piqued my curiosity. Later, some research offered me a holistic geopolitical perspective of the region and, most importantly, more insights into a scene from the movie Lawrence of Arabia, which I have attached. In this newsletter, I am offering you some of what I've learned, and I want to show you how the past connects the present beyond trains that lay as debris in the hot desert.

Looking forward to your feedback,

Dina

The Hejaz Railway: The train that used to connect Saudi to Turkey, and now Israel wants to ‘revive’ it

In 2018, Yisrael Katz, the former Israeli Minister of Intelligence and Transportation, expressed a bold vision. 

“I want to revive the Hejaz Railway,” he told the Saudi news portal Elaph. “This is not a dream at all,” he added. 

But, what’s the Hejaz Railway? And does it hold any geopolitical significance in this day and age? 

The railway was the acorn planted by Ottoman sultan Abdülhamid II, whose reign began from 1876 to 1909. 

Spurred by his “pan-Islam” ethos and to help pilgrims reach Mecca faster, sultan Abdülhamid II issued an imperial order on May 2, 1900 to build what was known as the Hejaz train, connecting Istanbul, Damascus and Medina.

Call on all Muslims to donate

At the time, sultan Abdülhamid II called on Muslims worldwide to donate to this project to show their unity and help pilgrims from Asia, Europe and the Levant reach Mecca faster and most importantly safer, since some pilgrims died from the scorching deserts to reach Mecca and finally perform one of the pillars of Islam, pilgrimage. 

The first important year for the railway was 1901,  when a  celebration  commemorated the  track  reaching  the southernmost Syrian city  Dar’a  from Damascus. 

And in 1908, the first train from Damascus to Al-Anbariyyah Station in Al-Medina was celebrated with the attendance of thousands.

However, the train’s story wasn’t at all happy, especially when the “Sick Man,” a name that emperor Nicholas I of the Russian Empire first used to describe the Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century, was on the verge of its eventual collapse in 1922. 

The celebration couldn’t be full-fledged amid burgeoning Arab revolt fomented by the British against Sultan Abdulhameed II. In hindsight of the Ottoman empire joining Germany, the start of WWI, ushered an uneasy political climate for any big economic achievement to be fully grasped or even supported. 

It’s in the scene of Lawrence of Arabia

Moving forward to 1917, British bombers dropped bombs on Al-Ula Station.

British archaeologist, army officer and diplomat, Thomas Edward Lawrence, famously known as Lawrence of Arabia, played a pivotal role in the attack. The bombing even took a central stage in the movie Lawrence of Arabia. 

A year after the Ottomans lost control of the Railway in 1919, the train effectively stopped operating. Relics of the trains can still be seen in the Saudi desert, however, history enthusiasts can visit the Hejaz Railway Museum in Medina after restoring the railway station in 2006. 

The G20 in India

Now, enough of this history, and back to our question, why is Israel interested in reviving it?

Well, if you haven’t checked the news, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the G20 summit in New Delhi in September announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for an economic corridor between India, the Middle East and Europe. 

The corridor is expected to cut through Jordan, Israel and then Europe. Unlike the previous Hejaz Railway, Syria, which was one of the main routes, so far is out of the picture. 

This comes after some normalization attempts by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and in line with Israel coveting rail connectivity in the Middle East. 

Please read the following article to get the full picture.

From the UAE to Israel? Here are four mega cross-border train projects expected to change the Middle East

Choo, choo! Here comes a unique revolution that will change the Middle East's connectivity. From trains connecting former foes Iraq and Iran to railways starting from India to the shores of the UAE and Europe, please read Mosaic Perspectives lists to see how the region is slowly transforming. 

1- Under construction: Railway connecting Iraq and Iran 

When did work start? In September, work began to transport passengers and cargo between the Iranian border town of Shalamcheh and the southeastern Iraqi city of Basra. 

Purpose: To transport passengers and cargo.

Length of the railroad: 20-mile (32-kilometer)

Estimated completion: March or September 2025. 

Historical Context: The idea for this railway dates back to shortly before the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. Political instability halted its development. 

Agreement first inked in 2014: Tehran and Baghdad first inked a deal to develop the route in 2014 but were forced to stop the project after ISIS began its violent offenses through large parts of Iraq. 

However, Iran and Iraq reverted to the project in late 2021. 

Bridge Over Waterway: As part of the project, Iran plans to build an overpass on the waterway that divides the two countries. This waterway is known as the Arvand River in Iran and Shatt al-Arab in Iraq. The bridge must be moveable to allow ships to pass under it.

Estimated cost: Up to $120 million.

2- Jordan connecting with Saudi

Plan announcement: In September last year, the Jordanian Arabic-language daily Alghad reported that Jordan was planning to build a nation-wide rail network with partial funding from Saudi Arabia. 

Purpose: Passengers and cargo. 

• The rail line will connect the Southern Jordanian port of Aqaba with Madounah, a town near the Saudi and Iraqi border.

• The project aims to create a national rail network covering most of Jordan's governorates.

• The rail from Aqaba will primarily be used to transport cargo to the town south of Amman.

Length of the rail:  418-kilometer 

Timeline and Funding: The Saudi-Jordan Investment Fund set a six-month deadline since their announcement in September for further studies on the project.

3- The Gulf Railway Project 

Objective: This project aims to connect the UAE with Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Future Destinations: The plan for the railway network is to reach Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.

Missed deadline: The railway was expected to be completed in 2018. However, the oil price slump in 2014‑16 derailed any progress. 

Historical context: The Gulf Railway project was originally launched in 2009 to connect all six members of the GCC by rail and link major urban centers in the region, including Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Dubai in the UAE, and Kuwait City. 

Progress: Qatar and Saudi Arabia pledged to resume work on a rail connection in January 2022, and Oman and the UAE have progressed in implementing a $3 billion project to connect Sohar Port in northern Oman to Al Ain and Abu Dhabi in the UAE after a bilateral meeting in October 2022.

Purpose: To diversify away from oil and support the localization of supply chains, boost intra‑regional trade, and facilitate enhanced travel within the Gulf region.

4- India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

Announcement: At the G20 summit in New Delhi in September, the U.S., India, EU, and Saudi Arabia announced the promotion of a central railway and sea transport corridor between India and Europe via the Middle East. 

Vision: Plans for the corridor envisage the establishment of a maritime and rail transit link between India, the Middle East, and Europe, with goods unloaded at UAE ports transported overland by rail from the UAE to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. 

Israel part of the puzzle: The agreement could solidify Israel's presence as a key player if ties are normalized. However, it's not clear how the project will move forward following Israel's escalating attacks on Gaza since October. 

U.S. key support: The project is supported by the United States, which is shoring up further economic alliance as China expands with its China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the region. 

On May 7, the Times of Israel reported that the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was in Saudi Arabia to discuss these mega projects with what the media outlet described as "key Israeli allies" but without Israel at the table, citing reports. 

According to the Times of Israel, Sullivan was to meet his Saudi, Emirati, and Indian counterparts.

Historical context: Israel has long desired rail connectivity in the Middle East. In 2017, Israel promoted its initiative, "Tracks for Regional Peace," by launching a railway project linking the port of Haifa with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

In 2021, Sama news agency reported that the head of the Israeli National Economic Council, Avi Simhon, said Israel and the UAE were already planning to establish a railway project linking Abu Dhabi with Haifa.

Simhon said carrying out this project will help Israel transport its goods to the UAE in one or two days instead of shipping through the Suez Canal, which takes about 12 days.

After surpassing the U.S. trade volume in MENA, is China poised to replicate this in startups?

We’re seeing more and more Chinese expertise and investment coming to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as geopolitics pushes the region to diversify away from the United States further. 

A Chinese venture capital (V.C.) firm with giants such as Uber and Airbnb under its portfolio belt announced in early February that it’s planning to raise $1 billion to back technology startups in the Middle East.

Backed by Saudi sovereign wealth, Public Investment Fund (PIF), if the Beijing-headquartered MSA Capital, also known as Heyu Capital, manages to secure the $1 billion target, it would become the largest V.C. firm focused on the Middle East, according to venture capital data firm Magnitt. 

From 2005 until 2022, China invested more than $273 billion in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey. 

China has already surpassed the United States in terms of trade with MENA. 

According to the International Monetary Fund’s Direction of Trade Statistics, China’s total annual bilateral goods trade volume with countries in the MENA region reached approximately $368.4 billion in 2022, up from $284.3 billion in 2021 and the previous high of $264.6 billion in 2014.

For comparison, U.S. trade with the region in 2022 was valued at about $144 billion. 

In 2015, China overtook the U.S. as the world’s top crude oil importer, making it a significant customer to oil-rich MENA countries.