Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told The National he hopes Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministers will sign a rail agreement Nov. 8, with plans linking the six states.
The National reported Friday that the ministers would meet in Manama on Sunday. Al Khalifa described a signing as his hope; official sources reviewed have not confirmed that a signing is on the meeting agenda.
The GCC Supreme Council approved the General Agreement for connecting member states to the rail project Dec. 3, 2025. Bahrain’s Cabinet approved a draft law to ratify the agreement Nov. 2. The official notices document those steps but do not describe what role ministers’ signatures would play in the approval and ratification process.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications says the network is designed to move passengers and freight among Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The ministry gives December 2030 as the project’s completion target. For Bahrain, the cross-border connection depends on the proposed King Hamad Causeway to Saudi Arabia, planned with four road lanes and two rail tracks.
The ministry’s project page describes a 57-kilometer rail link from a proposed station in Ramli to Dammam station. It identifies trade and regional transport integration as intended benefits, alongside passenger and freight movement.
The GCC Railways Authority dates approval of the broader project to 2009, before the GCC Supreme Council approved the General Agreement in 2025. The rail plan sits within broader regional infrastructure coordination. At an Oct. 18 meeting in Manama, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi identified water interconnection, expanded electricity interconnection capacity, logistics and strategic storage as cooperation priorities, the council’s Secretariat said. EconoTimes previously reported on the council’s regional infrastructure integration plans.
The National reported the ministers are due to meet in Manama Sunday, Nov. 8; a signature remains the minister’s stated hope.
