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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.
| Transport in Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|
Map of the Saudi Arabian transportation network from the 2000 CIA World Factbook | |
| Overview | |
| Native name | نظام النقل بالمملكة العربية السعودية |
| Owner | Ministry of Transport |
| Area served |  Saudi Arabia |
| Chief executive | Saleh bin Naser al-Jaser (as Minister) |
| Headquarters | Riyadh |
| Website | https://www.mot.gov.sa/en |
| Operation | |
| Operator(s) | Ministry of Transport |
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 (48 km) 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]
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]
| 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):
| |||
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. 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]
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]
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.
Saudi Arabia is served by three major international airports: the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, which is also the largest airport in the world by area.[13] In addition to these three major airports, several smaller airports, providing both domestic and international connections, are present throughout the kingdom, such as the Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina and the Ta'if International Airport in Ta'if among others.
The Saudi Arabian flag carrier, Saudia, started out in 1945 with a single twin-engine Douglas DC-3 Dakota gifted by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[14] The airline now operates more than 140 aircraft, providing a means of transport to more than 34 million annual passengers to 95 destinations around the world.[15] Other major airlines in the country include Flynas, Flyadeal and SaudiGulf Airlines, among others. In addition to these public airlines, Saudi Aramco operates its own private airline, Saudi Aramco Aviation, with a fleet of seven aircraft and multiple helicopters and their own terminals in several cases, which they use for the transportation of employees from several far-flung locations such as Shaybah, Yanbu and Tanajib.[citation needed]
| Airports with paved runways | |
|---|---|
| Runway length | Number of airports |
| over 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 32 |
| 8,000 ft (2,400 m) to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 13 |
| 5,000 ft (1,500 m) to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) | 12 |
| 3,000 ft (910 m) to 5,000 ft (1,500 m) | 2 |
| under 3,000 ft (910 m) | 2 |
| Total | 61 |
| Airports with unpaved runways | |
| Runway length | Number of airports |
| over 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 6 |
| 8,000 ft (2,400 m) to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) | 5 |
| 5,000 ft (1,500 m) to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) | 75 |
| 3,000 ft (910 m) to 5,000 ft (1,500 m) | 38 |
| under 3,000 ft (910 m) | 14 |
| Total | 138 |
| Heliports (2009 est.) | |
| 9 | |
In 2019, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched the first commercial helicopter that will serve to transport customers within the major Saudi cities and to take them to different tourism destinations.[16]
In 2019 Saudi Arabia had 103 million air passengers.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19] 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.
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.[20]
| Name | City | Located on | Terminals | Berths | Capacity (containers) | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Fahd Industrial Port | Yanbu | Red Sea | 3 | 34 | 210,000,000 | 50 km2 (19 sq mi) |
| Jeddah Islamic Port | Jeddah | Red Sea | 5 | 62 | 130,000,000 | 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi) |
| King Abdulaziz Port | Dammam | Persian Gulf | 4 | 42 | 105,480,000 | 4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi) |
| King Fahd Industrial Port | Jubail | Persian Gulf | 5 | 34 | 70,000,000 | 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi) |
| Jubail Commercial Port | Jubail | Persian Gulf | 4 | 16 | 36,000,000 | 4.1 km2 (1.6 sq mi) |
| Ra's al-Khair Port | Ra's al-Khair | Persian Gulf | 5 | 14 | 35,000,000 | 19.2 km2 (7.4 sq mi) |
| Yanbu Commercial Port | Yanbu | Red Sea | 2 | 12 | 13,500,000 | 3.9 km2 (1.5 sq mi) |
| Duba Port | Duba | Red Sea | 3 | 6 | 10,000,000 | 11.25 km2 (4.34 sq mi) |
| Jizan Port | Jizan | Red Sea | 1 | 12 | 5,000,000 | 4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi) |
| Sources: [21] | ||||||
The Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO), known by its abbreviation SAPTCO, established in 1979 by a royal decree, operates a fleet of more than 4,500 vehicles[22] with multiple routes throughout the kingdom. It transports approximately 8 million people monthly between the major cities of the kingdom.[22][23] In addition to the transnational routes, SAPTCO also operates 10 international routes which transport approximately 500,000 people between the kingdom and the neighbouring Gulf states. SAPTCO operates special bus services during the Hajj pilgrimage, which carry approximately 15,000 pilgrims between the holy sites.[14] One of Saudi Arabia's most sophisticated bus networks is that of the city of Medina, with 10 lines connecting different regions of the city. It serves approximately 20,000 passengers on a daily basis.[24][25] SATPCO buses are gender-segregated.
Taxis are available in all major cities of the kingdom, in addition to the presence of private companies that offer vehicle hiring services, such as Uber and Careem (which is a subsidiary of Uber), and ChaCha Taxi, a locally known provider focused on accessible and reliable transport.[26] A reflection of gender inequality, men travelling solo may sit in the passenger seat, but women are expected to sit in the rear seat.[27] Before the reform in early 2020,[27] Saudi cabs did not have meters; the price was agreed to up front and trips had to be booked in advance because of a 2012 "no hailing" regulation.[28] Women had also been required to be accompanied by a male relative or another woman.[28]
The Makkah Mass Rail Transit, also known as Mecca Metro, became the first rapid transit system to enter operation in Saudi Arabia after the completion of the Al Mashaaer Al Muqaddassah (S) line in 2010. Other rapid transit systems currently in development in the kingdom include:
The development of a road network plays an important role in the economic development of a country and therefore, the mileage of paved roads existing in a country is often used as an index to assess the extent of its development. The proper development of transport road network not only reduces the cost of transportation both in terms of money and time but also helps in the integration of various regions within the country and better understanding of neighbouring countries at the international level. The transport road network in Saudi Arabia contributed to the development of the country by bringing in direct benefits from its role in the development of some sectors such as minerals, agriculture, industry and commerce.[3]
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