When an expat arrives in the Kingdom I always wonder how long it will take for him or her to realize they rarely if ever see any railroad tracks? For example in the United States, travel by train whether for business, pleasure or to carry goods and supplies is a standard mode of transport. Just about every small town and village to all the largest cities will have train tracks and railway stations. However here in the Kingdom there is presently only one rail route and that is between Riyadh and Damman. I’m not exactly sure why this is the chosen route. Perhaps it has to do with Damman being a seaside border city and many goods and products are received there. Given the number of muslims who wish to perform hajj and umrah from both inside and outside the Kingdom I would imagine that train routes to/from Mecca and Medina would be equally popular as well as removing some of the congestion from the busy roadways.
Filed under: culture, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, travel, Uncategorized | 17 Comments »
