Saudi railway passengers reach 156.4 million in 2025, up 266.5%
Intracity travel rose 368% to 145.4 million while intercity passengers declined 5.6% to 10.9 million.
Saudi Arabia's railway network carried 156.4 million passengers in 2025, an increase of 266.5% from 42.7 million in 2024, according to Railway Transport Statistics 2025 published by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The figures cover the full calendar year 2025 and are based on administrative records provided by the Transport General Authority.
Intracity travel drives passenger growth#
Intracity railway passengers increased 368% to 145.4 million in 2025, up from 31.1 million in 2024. Intercity railway passengers declined 5.6% to 10.9 million, compared with 11.6 million in the previous year. December recorded the highest monthly passenger count at 15.9 million, while the lowest monthly figure of 10.8 million occurred in April. During 2025, passenger trains completed 1.4 million trips and travelled 42.3 million kilometres in total distance. The Riyadh Metro recorded 949,400 trips, covering 26.8 million kilometres.
Haramain railway accounts for 76% of passenger-kilometres#
The Haramain High Speed Railway accounted for 76% of passenger transport performance, recording 2,743 million passenger-kilometres, a decline of 6.1% compared with 2024. Passenger transport performance on the East Train increased 8.3% to 496 million passenger-kilometres, while the North Train recorded a 6.9% increase to 370 million passenger-kilometres. Overall railway passenger transport performance declined 3.1% to 3,609.3 million passenger-kilometres, compared with 3,724.3 million in 2024. The Haramain High Speed Railway recorded an on-time performance rate of 97.8%, followed by the East Train at 96.1% and the North Train at 94.3%.
Freight transport reaches 16.1 million tons#
Rail freight volumes totalled 16.1 million tons in 2025. The North Train carried 14.4 million tons, representing 89.7% of the total, with commodities comprising 5.1 million tons of phosphate, 5 million tons of bauxite, 2.6 million tons of phosphoric acid and 1.7 million tons of molten sulphur. The East Train moved 1.7 million tons of cargo, consisting of limestone, grain and cement, alongside 915,400 twenty-foot equivalent units. Rail freight transport performance increased 3.6% to 17,011.5 million ton-kilometres, compared with 16,427.7 million ton-kilometres in 2024.
North Train dominates freight performance#
The North Train accounted for 96.3% of total freight transport performance, recording 16,374.5 million ton-kilometres in 2025. The East Train reached 637 million ton-kilometres, an increase of 9.4% compared with the previous year. Freight trains operated 8,885 trips during 2025, covering approximately 6.1 million kilometres. GASTAT stated that the annual statistics are based on administrative records provided by the Transport General Authority, alongside spatial modelling used to derive certain statistical indicators.
Sources1 source across 1 domain
- saudigazette.com.saSaudi GazetteSaudi railway passenger numbers increased 266.5% to 156.4 million in 2025, intracity travel up 368% to 145.4 million, intercity down 5.6% to 10.9 million, freight volume 16.1 million tons, published by GASTAT
Each source above carries the claim it supports. Links open the publisher's own page; their text is not reproduced here beyond what the claim requires, and their rights remain theirs.
Orient Brief is published by Arabian Media Network. Pieces are produced by the Policy Desk with AI-assisted synthesis of the cited sources and automated verification against the network's editorial policy. Every piece carries a desk rather than a reporter. Corrections are recorded on the piece and on the corrections page.
One question, the institutions that have published on it, and each position with the document and the date beneath it.