Türkiye, Syria, and Jordan plan to reconstruct the historic Hejaz Railway, which originally reduced travel from Damascus to Medina from 40 days to three.
The new railway, about 1,750 km long, will handle freight and passengers, with 30 km of new tracks in Syria and Jordan responsible for infrastructure work.
The Globes report stressed that revitalizing the Hejaz Railway is just one of several projects designed to make Türkiye a regional logistics hub. The "Development Road" project is presented as a response to India's IMEC Corridor (India-Middle East-Europe Corridor), developed with U.S. support.
A Türkiye-Iraq land corridor connecting southern Iraq's Basra province to Türkiye will be 1,200 km long and cost $17 billion, with phased completion from 2029 to 2050.
Before completing the "Development Road," Türkiye plans to reactivate the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad container train line, strengthening ties with Pakistan and generating revenue for Iran.
Türkiye's logistics strategy also extends to China. Amid disruptions in Red Sea shipping due to Houthi attacks and the "Iron Sword War," Türkiye's "Middle Corridor" offers an alternative route for Chinese goods from China through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to Türkiye, from where they are shipped to Europe. In 2024, China-Europe rail traffic reached around 19,000 trips, over ten times the volume in 2016.
