Dream of the Desert: Saudi Arabia is launching its own luxury train

Crossing the desert could be about to get much more glamorous. State-owned railway company Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) recently struck a 200 million Saudi riyals ($53.33 million) deal with Italian hospitality company Arsenale Group to launch the first luxury train in the Middle Eastern kingdom. Saudi Arabia officially opened its doors to international tourists in a “historic moment” back in 2019 and the Middle Eastern kingdom has been pulling out all the stops to lure visitors over ever since. The destination has made a number of high-profile tourism investments in recent years – a $500 billion model city in the desert of northwest Saudi Arabia among them. Now Saudi Arabia is getting on board with the slow travel movement in a big way by moving into the luxury train market. ‘Luxury train cruise’ According to Saudi-Arabia’s State run media, the new train is due to begin operations in late 2025, Dream of the Desert will offer “luxury train cruise” journeys from the capital city of Riyadh to Qurayyat, which is situated close to the northern border with Jordan, according to a press release issued by SAR last week. The 1,300-kilometer route is to stretch across Saudi Arabia’s stunning desert landscapes, along with the city of Hail. With a design inspired by “Saudi style and tradition,” the “fully-customized” trains, made up of 40 luxury cabins, are already under construction, with reservations scheduled to open at the end of the year. One or two-night trips will be available to book, with a maximum capacity of 82 passengers, according to Paolo Barletta, CEO of Arsenale. “The initial production phases of the Dream of the Desert carriages in Italy have recently commenced, and we can’t wait for the debut of our first train in the kingdom in the coming years,” Barletta said in an official statement.