Transport authorities in Saudi Arabia are currently looking into the construction of a high-speed rail (HGV) line to connect the capital Riyadh with the Eastern Province. The line is expected to be identical in construction to the Haramain HGV line between Mecca and Medina, which opened in September 2018, and will reduce travel time between Riyadh and the Eastern Province to just over an hour. The Saudi Railway Company (SAR) operates a 449 km conventional line between Riyadh and Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Province. The Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO), which merged with SAR in March 2019, had hired a consortium led by Spanish transport consultancy Consultrans in 2014 at a cost of €1.2 million ($1.6 million) to study options for an HSR route between Riyadh and Dammam.
