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Saudi Arabia, Turkey sign agreement as historic Hejaz Railway revival talks continue
The two countries are closely monitoring developments on the Syria-Jordan-Iraq routes
- PUBLISHED: Wed 10 Jun 2026, 8:57 PM
Turkey and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen cooperation in the logistics and railway sectors, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The first document covers logistics services and operations, including the exchange of expertise, policies, and regulations. The second focuses on railway technologies, signalling and communication systems, railway digitalisation, human capacity development, the localisation of the railway industry, and efforts to reduce the sector's environmental impact.
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The two countries are closely monitoring developments on the Syria-Jordan-Iraq routes, Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, revealed in a statement on Tuesday.
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Furthermore, two test runs starting from Turkey through Iraq and extending to Saudi Arabia have already demonstrated the feasibility of the route.
The 'Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Railway Sector' aims to foster joint initiatives across all areas of the railway sector.
Earlier this month, Uraloglu had said Turkey was planning to modernise the historic Hejaz Railway and extend it to Oman to create an alternative global trade route to the Strait of Hormuz.
He said that Turjey aims to revive the historical line for both tourism and modern transit, explaining that the initial stage involves connecting Turkey to Aleppo, utilising the existing Aleppo-Damascus-Jordan network while continuing negotiations with Saudi authorities.
The Hejaz Railway was originally built to transport pilgrims from the city of Damascus in Syria to Madinah in Saudi Arabia. It started operating in 1908, where it played an important role in regional connectivity before being severely damaged during World War I.
