Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, announced the return of the shipping line “EVER GREEN” to transit again through the Suez Canal, as the navigation movement in the canal witnessed, on Sunday, the first transit of the giant container ship “EVER EON” as part of the North Convoy on its journey coming from the Netherlands and heading to Singapore.
The ship follows the Evergreen shipping line. The ship is 369 meters long and 53.6 meters wide, with a total tonnage of 185 thousand tons, and can carry up to 16,556 equivalent containers (TEU).
The ship is currently operating within the navigational service “NEU 7”, which is operated by the shipping alliance “Ocean Alliance” and directly connects the main ports on the trade route between the Far East and northwestern Europe.
Rabie stressed that the return of the Evergreen shipping line to cross the Suez Canal again is a positive indicator of the return of global trade to its sustainable path between East and West. Pointing out that the shipping line intends to return more flights through the canal during the coming period after a break that lasted about three years since the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis.
The Chairman of the Authority explained that the Suez Canal succeeded in restoring many of the navigational services of the major shipping lines operating on the trade line between Europe and Asia, in a step that reflects the strategic importance of the canal as a major axis in linking the East and the West.
The Gulf Cooperation Council railway project represents one of the largest regional connectivity projects in the region. It aims to establish a railway network extending across the six Gulf states, to facilitate the transportation of passengers and goods, enhance intra-trade, and link economic and industrial centers and Gulf ports within a single transportation system.
After years of planning, studies and regulatory procedures, the project is progressing to a new step with the signing of the General Agreement on railway connectivity in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Sunday, which provides a common framework for implementing and operating the network and coordinating its technical and operational specifications.
On Sunday, Manama will witness the signing ceremony of the “General Agreement to Connect the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries to the Railway Project,” under the patronage and presence of Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, and with the participation of the Ministers of Transport and Communications in the “Council Council” countries and the Secretary-General of the “Cooperation Council” Jassim Al-Budaiwi.
The agreement sets a general framework for coordination between member states, and defines their responsibilities in implementing and operating the project, in addition to unifying technical and operational standards and safety requirements, paving the way for linking national networks within an integrated Gulf system.
The idea of the project dates back to December 2009, when the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council approved the establishment of a railway linking member states to each other, based on “the importance of developing regional means of transportation, facilitating trade and mobility, supporting joint investments, and enhancing Gulf economic integration.”
The project includes the six countries: Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Sultanate of Oman, within a network with a total route length of about 2,117 kilometers, and the estimated cost of basic infrastructure ranges between 15.4 and 16 billion dollars.
One network in 6 countries
The project is based on linking the national railway networks in the GCC countries within an integrated regional system, allowing the movement of trains between countries without the national borders forming an obstacle to the movement of transport, while unifying the technical and operational specifications and safety requirements, and ensuring what is known as interoperability between the networks.
The project is not limited to transporting passengers, but also aims to develop the movement of freight and transport of goods, allowing the linking of industrial and commercial centres, ports and Gulf logistical areas, and opening the way for more efficient movement of goods between Gulf markets.
According to the project's announced specifications, the passenger network was designed to accommodate trains with a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour, while the target speed for freight trains ranged between 80 and 120 kilometers per hour. This diversity would make the network a means of transportation between cities, and at the same time a logistical corridor that serves the movement of trade and supply chains.
How will the project be implemented?
Implementing a cross-six-country network requires coordination that goes beyond the construction of railway lines, to include organizational, operational and technical aspects, as well as defining the responsibilities of each country and the mechanisms for linking their national networks.
In this context, the Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council decided in December 2021 to establish the Gulf Railway Authority, to regulate the rail transport industry in the GCC countries, and coordinate among member states to follow up on the implementation of the project and operate it as a single integrated regional line, in addition to working to ensure the compatibility and integration of national networks.
In December 2023, the Gulf Ministerial Council agreed that December 2030 would be the target date for the full operation of the project between member states, while allowing the operation of link lines between any two neighboring countries immediately after the completion of the implementation of the part connecting them, without waiting for the completion of the entire Gulf network.
This means that the implementation and operation of the project can proceed in phases, with completed sections beginning to be utilized before all lines are completed, allowing Member States to realize gradual gains from investment in the network.
The “general agreement”, which the countries will sign on Sunday, comes in this context. It sets a framework for coordination regarding implementation and operation, unifies technical and operational specifications, defines the responsibilities of countries, and strengthens the role of the Gulf Railway Authority in following up on the project’s stages and addressing the obstacles it may face.
The Supreme Council had approved the “General Agreement” for the project in December 2025, in preparation for completing the necessary procedures between member states, leading to the current signing ceremony.
Bahrain and connectivity with Saudi Arabia
The link between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia represents one of the important paths in the Gulf network. Bahrain plans to connect to the railway network through the proposed “King Hamad Bridge”, which includes dedicated tracks for train traffic in addition to vehicle traffic.
This connection is gaining importance beyond facilitating the movement of passengers between the two countries. It allows Bahrain to connect to the broader regional network and benefit from the transportation lines that connect Saudi Arabia with the rest of the GCC countries, supporting the movement of goods and trade and access to ports and logistical centers.
Why is the project becoming more important now?
The new step comes at a time when regional turmoil, and the challenges that accompany it to shipping traffic, have shown the extent to which trade and supply chains are affected by reliance on specific transport routes, especially in the Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz.
These developments have prompted countries in the region to search for broader, more diverse and flexible options for transporting goods, and to enhance connectivity between ports and commercial centers via land and railway means of transport.
In this context, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Bahraini Minister of Transport and Communications, pointed out that the difficulties of ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz highlighted the importance of accelerating the implementation of the railway connection project and enhancing integration between Gulf transport networks.
He explained that Bahrain, in light of the challenges facing navigation and the decline in ship traffic at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, resorted to increasing reliance on land transport and alternative ports in neighboring Gulf countries, including the Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia, the ports of Sohar and Duqm in the Sultanate of Oman, and Fujairah in the Emirates, to transport goods from them by land to Bahrain.
This experience reveals the importance of having an interconnected regional transport system, which allows diversifying the routes of arrival of goods and reducing dependence on a single means of transport or a specific sea corridor, even though the railway network does not represent a direct alternative to maritime transport, but rather a complement to it within a broader system of supply chains.
Economic gains go beyond transportation
In addition to its role in facilitating the movement of passengers and freight, the Gulf network is expected to contribute to reducing the costs of transporting some goods, improving the efficiency of their movement between markets, and enhancing connectivity between industrial areas, ports and commercial centers.
It can also support tourism and transportation between the GCC countries, and open investment opportunities in logistical services, warehouses, shipping centers, and railway-related services, as well as enhancing the attractiveness of the areas through which the lines pass for investments and economic activities.
Railways, as a means of mass transportation, provide an option that is more efficient in energy consumption and reduces emissions compared to some other means of transportation, especially in transporting large quantities of goods and passengers, which supports the Gulf countries’ trend towards developing better sustainable transportation systems.
With the signing of the “General Agreement”, the project moves to a more advanced stage of coordination between member states, but the main challenge will remain in completing the national infrastructure, ensuring technical and operational compatibility between the networks, and adhering to the specified timetables, reaching the declared goal of operating the entire Gulf network by December 2030.
