In its continued bid to entice tourists to the kingdom, Saudi Arabia is planning to develop a luxury train to take passengers on overnight trips between two Unesco World Heritage Sites, with US$75m (€70m, £59.7m) being invested into the project.
Running from Riyadh to Al Qurayyat, the ‘Dream of the Desert’ is a US$53.5m (€50m, £42.6m) locomotive with 11 carriages capable of carrying up to 80 passengers across 40 cabins. A restaurant with fine dining will also feature. The train will be operated by Saudi Arabia Railways and is being developed by Italian firm Arsenale Group in the style of the world famous Orient Express.
On its 770mi (1240km) journey, Dream of the Desert will visit the Hail Region, home to rock art showing representations of human and animal figures covering 10,000 years of history. It will also stop off at At-Turaif, a historic district founded in the 15th century, with the property including the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis.
“We believe this train will give the people in Saudi Arabia and international tourists the chance to visit one of the most beautiful parts of the kingdom,” said Arsenale Group CEO Paolo Barletta, speaking to AGBI. “It’s a challenging project but the rail network is there.”
In addition to the train’s development, a further US$21.4m (€20m, £17.6m) will be invested into setting up the rail line, including the launch of commercial operations.
The train is expected to be built by summer 2025, with its first official journey taking place in November of that year. Passengers will be able to book one or two night trips.
The Dream of the Desert will visit two World Heritage Sites on its 770 mile journey CREDIT: ARSENALE GROUP
