Saudi Arabia Turns to Trains and Buses

With Saudi Arabia's air transport sector paralyzed, the kingdom has been forced to rely on planes and trains to carry passengers in emergency transfers.

According to ambassador Arjan; Saudi Arabia started implementing alternative plans for the transfer of passengers today, Monday, at the same time as the attacks on the country's international airports escalated.

Saudi media reported that Riyadh's embassies in several countries issued notices of alternative plans to help travelers stranded by flight disruptions.

According to the announcements of the Saudi embassies in Kuwait, UAE and Egypt, one of the considered solutions is the ground transfer of passengers. According to this program, passengers will first be transported by flight to the neighboring countries of Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf and then go to Saudi cities through land routes.

The Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadh" also reported on Saturday that the Saudi Railway Company has added two additional trains to Riyadh's rail transportation.

This is the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia that this country implements such an emergency plan.

Saudi Arabia's attempt to use trains instead of planes while the country's rail transportation capacity is limited; Saudi Arabia has 5,380 km of rail network (compared to Iran, which has 14,984 km of rail network) and transports about 14 million passengers annually (compared to Iran, which has more than 32 million passengers).

The widespread disruption in Saudi Arabia's air transport comes after Omar al-Bakhiti, the spokesperson of the Sana'a government, announced last week that Saudi airports have become the scene of Yemeni army operations, and after that, King Khalid Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd Airport in Dammam (Eastern Saudi Arabia) were repeatedly targeted by missile attacks.

Following these attacks, King Khalid Airport in Riyadh has stopped all its activities, and today the Saudi Aviation Organization announced its extension.