Minister: High-speed rail vision to connect Türkiye with Saudi Arabia

Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said the country’s railway network will in future extend to Iraq’s Basra Port and ultimately link Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, describing the plan as a continuation of historic regional transport ambitions.

Speaking during a visit to Karaman for the opening of the first phase of the Karaman Ring Road, Uraloğlu outlined Ankara’s long-term rail strategy and ongoing infrastructure investments, Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media.

“We will, in time, reach Iraq’s Basra Port through this railway line,” he said. “Sultan Abdülhamid built the Hejaz Railway. We will connect this line there as well and essentially reach Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.”

Uraloğlu said Türkiye was advancing major rail and road projects designed to improve regional connectivity, noting that high-speed rail links would gradually extend beyond central hubs.

“We will connect Karaman to the existing railway line in Ulukışla. Hopefully, next year we will have linked it as a high-speed rail line,” he said.

He added that a railway project linking Aksaray, Ulukışla and Mersin had already been tendered, which would give Karaman access to the Mediterranean.

“We will reach the Mediterranean from Karaman via high-speed rail. Not only Konya, Istanbul and Ankara, but also the Mediterranean,” he said. “With the same high-speed rail line, we will extend towards Gaziantep for now and reach those areas.”

The minister also pointed to what he described as the transformation of Türkiye’s transport infrastructure over recent decades, saying the country had moved from fragmented regional connectivity to a nationwide network.

“Today, 77 provinces are connected by divided highways,” he said. “We have increased average intercity speeds from 40 kilometres per hour to 90.”

Looking further ahead, Uraloğlu reiterated plans to extend the rail corridor beyond Türkiye’s borders through Iraq.

“Through this line, we will eventually reach Basra Port in Iraq,” he said, linking the project to the historical Hejaz Railway built during the Ottoman era.

By Aghakazim Guliyev