History and overview

In 1921, King Abdulaziz introduced the first car in Saudi Arabia.^[1] However, by the time the Kingdom was established in 1932, there were still less than 30 miles of paved roadways in the country.^[2] Cars eventually supplanted camels as the main mode of transport in the Kingdom in the 1950s, with a major uptick in car ownership occurring in the 1970s.^[1] The roads of Saudi Arabia gradually became the defining feature of the kingdom's transport system as the main population centres are not only scattered all over the country but also because they faced a major challenge from the geography of the country itself; separated by deserts, valleys and mountains, among other landforms. Due to this, a reliable road network became more important and essential than other modes of transport in the kingdom.^[3]

Saudi Arabia had encouraged road transport in the past by maintaining one of the lowest petrol prices in the world. Despite raising prices in 2018,^[4] it is worth noting that due to limited alternative passenger transport options in the country, the gasoline fuel demand is relatively inelastic to its prices;^[5] light-duty vehicles dominate the passenger transport landscape. Buses and other public transport options are limited, and walking or bicycles are hindered by the urban landscapes and harsh weather in most regions of the country.

The development of the Saudi road network can be divided into two major phases; i.e. the expansion of the modern road network from 1938 to 1970, preceding the initial development plans conceived by the Ministry of Transport, and the development and expansion after the introduction of the plans (after 1970). The two stages, pre-national planning and postnational planning, relate to the historical circumstances of the economic, political and social demands of the kingdom. The activity during the second stage greatly exceeds that during the first owing to the existence of coordinated plans, high investment and concentration of effort.^[3]

Highway network

The Ministry of Transport in 2014 maintained a total estimated road length of 627,000 km, of which 151,000 km were highways linking major regions of Saudi Arabia with international borders and serving as interconnecting roads between the major Saudi Arabian cities; 102,000 km were secondary roads linking major cities with other smaller cities in their respective provinces; 374,000 km were feeder roads branching out of secondary roads and serving towns, villages & agricultural areas. Another 204,000 km of roads was under construction by the end of fiscal year 2014. The Ministry of Transport maintains 151,000 km of major roads linking the major Saudi Arabian cities and the kingdom to its neighbors.^[3][6]

More information Saudi highway network, Mashreq network ...

Major highways of Saudi Arabia

Saudi highway network	Mashreq network	Southern or western terminus	Northern or eastern terminus
Highway 5	M55	Road 45 at Yemeni border in Tuwal	Highway 15 at Jordanian border in Durra
			Highway 65 at Jordanian border in Durra
Highway 10	M90	Highway 5 near Haridhah	E11 at Emirati border in Batha'
Highway 15	M45	S150 at Yemeni border in Al Wadi'ah	Highway 5 at Jordanian border in Halat 'Ammar
Highway 40	M80	Highway 5 in Jeddah	Route 615 in Dammam
Highway 50	M70 from Artawiyah	Highway 40 in Dhalim	M70 at Kuwaiti border in Ruqa'i
Highway 60	M70	Highway 5 in Yanbu	Highway 95 near Jubail
Highway 65	M35	Highway 10 in Howtat Bani Tamim	Highway 30 at Jordanian border in Qurayyat
Highway 70		Route 375 in AlUla	Highway 65 in Ha'il
Highway 75		Route 180 in Al Kharkhir	Highway 95 near Tanajib
Highway 80	M50	Highway 5 in Duba	Road 22 at Iraqi border in 'Arar
Highway 85	M25	Highway 65 in Qurayyat	Highway near Jubail
Highway 95	M5	E11 at Emirati border in Batha'	Road 40 at Kuwaiti border in Khafji
Source(s):[6][7]
Note(s): Road signs of the country the roads belong to were used wherever available, in other cases, Mashreq network sign is used. Highway number(s) in bold indicate that the route is not part of the Saudi highway network.

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Most of these highways are two-lane highways, and some of them are not separated by median strips. The Ministry of Transport has been working on a project to gradually modernize these roads. Saudi Arabia's Highway 10 currently holds the record for world's longest straight road, with the 256 km (159 mi) section from Haradh to the Batha' border with UAE cutting through the Rub' al-Khali desert, beating the previous record holder, Australia's Eyre Highway, by 110 km (68 mi).^[8] On 19 February 2018, the speed limit on sections of Highway 15, Highway 40 and Highway 65 was increased from 120 km/h (75 mph) to 140 km/h (87 mph).^[9]

History and overview

The first railway line in the kingdom predates the unification of Saudi Arabia. The 1,050 mm (3 ft 5¹¹⁄₃₂ in) narrow-gauge Hejaz railway, that ran from Damascus to Medina, began construction in 1900 under the Ottoman Hejaz Vilayet, and was completed in 1908. A proposal to further extend the line to Mecca was made, but was never materialized. The southern portion of the line was mostly destroyed during the First World War. A few sections of the track remain, with some sections in Jordan being used up to today. The stations in Mada'in Salih and Medina have been converted into museums (Hejaz Railway Museum and Mada'in Salih Railway Station), each having some locomotives and rolling stock from the original railway.^[10][11]

The first railway line built and completed under Saudi rule was the 569 km (354 mi) Dammam-Riyadh line, which began construction in 1947. It was inaugurated on October 20, 1951, by King Abdulaziz. This was before the formation of the Saudi Railways Organization, and the railway line was run and maintained by Saudi Aramco, before being entrusted to the Ministry of Finance. On May 13, 1966, a royal decree established the SRO, a public corporation that now runs the line. The main railway stations for passengers opened in Riyadh, Dammam, and Hofuf in 1981. The modern passenger line between Riyadh and Dammam measuring 449 km (279 mi) was completed in 1985.^[10][12]

The other conventional railway line in the kingdom is the North–South line, also known as the Riyadh-Qurayyat line, which runs from the capital Riyadh to border with Jordan at Hadithah via Buraidah, Ha'il and Qurayyat, with feeder lines to multiple phosphate mining and bauxite mining locations in the northern parts of the kingdom. The largest feeder line connects the main line to the port city of Ra's Al-Khair, near Jubail, giving the line a total length of more than 2,750 km (1,710 mi). The only high-speed railway line in the kingdom, the Haramain high-speed railway line, was completed in 2017, and connects the two Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina via the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Abdullah Economic City near Rabigh.^[10]

Detail

The historic 1,300 km (810 mi) 1,035 mm (3 ft 5¹¹⁄₃₂ in) narrow-gauge Ottoman Hejaz railway was mostly destroyed during the First World War and its stations in Mada'in Salih and Medina have been converted to museums. Within two decades of the unification of Saudi Arabia, the first Dammam–Riyadh line was completed in 1951, and was 569 km (354 mi) long. This line was later converted to only be used for freight transport, with a new, shorter, 449 km (279 mi) line being completed in 1985, exclusively for the transport of passengers. The other passenger line in the kingdom is the Riyadh–Qurayyat line, which runs through the middle of the country connecting the capital Riyadh to Ha'il, Majma'ah, the Al Jawf Province and Jordan via Qurayyat. It is the longest line in the Saudi rail network, and with a feeder line connecting it to the port of Ra's al-Khair, its total length comes up to around 2,750 km (1,710 mi). The North–South Railway line uses portions of the Riyadh–Qurayyat line and connects the main line to phosphate and bauxite mining locations in the northern reaches of the kingdom.

Apart from mass transit systems such as metros, the only high-speed railway line in the kingdom is the Haramain high-speed railway line, construction of which was completed in 2017. The line is 453 km (281 mi) long and connects the two Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina via the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Abdullah Economic City.

History and overview

Historically, the area that is now Saudi Arabia was situated close to one end of the Silk Road, and the ports here made the many tribes in the region wealthy as they profited off the spice trade. Saudi Arabia is one of several countries without any rivers, however there are several wadis spread throughout the country that fill up during the rainy season of winter. However, due to their unstable nature, they are neither classified nor used as waterways. The Jeddah Islamic Port was the main gateway to pilgrims making the journey to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina before the advent of jet aircraft, and is said to have been given that status by the third Rashidun caliph, Uthman.^[19] One of the first ports built under the kingdom was located in Khobar, and was used to transport petroleum to Bahrain. The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) was founded in 1976 as a government agency to oversee and maintain the kingdom's ports, and it currently maintains nine ports throughout the kingdom.^[20] Several other ports are not maintained by Mawani but by other entities, such as the King Abdullah Port in the King Abdullah Economic City near Rabigh.

Detail

Like all states in the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia does not have any rivers or inland waterways. This has not stopped the kingdom from pursuing the development of a water transportation network, primarily constructed to support the transport of petrochemicals. The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) runs and manages the major ports in the country, overseeing their operations. There are some other ports in the kingdom managed by other entities, such as the King Abdullah Port. The largest port on the Persian Gulf, the King Abdulaziz Port, is located in Dammam.^[21]

Ports