Kuwait has approved the route for a 500-kilometer (310-mile) high-speed rail line to the Saudi capital Riyadh — part of the gathering momentum to develop new regional transport and logistics links that enable trade to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

Work on the route is due to start later this year and be ready by 2030. Once the track is laid, the journey should take less than two hours, making it competitive with direct flights. In late 2025, plans were announced for a similar train service between Riyadh and Doha.

These lines are separate to the Gulf Cooperation Council railway project designed to connect all six Gulf states: This month, Saudi Arabia Railways issued a tender for design services for the 672-kilometer section that will run along the east coast of the kingdom, connecting it with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE (from where the line will continue on to Oman).

The UAE, meanwhile, recently completed the first passenger rail station on its national network, in Fujairah — a city that has risen in prominence during the Iran war due to its port’s location outside the Strait of Hormuz.