On the Right Track: Women Drivers Will Soon Steer This Kingdom’s High-Speed Trains

By the end of 2022, women will be driving high-speed trains connecting Saudi Arabia’s two holy cities as part of the kingdom’s efforts to improve women’s rights and further their empowerment.

“Saudi female drivers are being trained and groomed for steering the Haramain train,” states Rayan Al Harbi, the deputy chief of the service. “By the end of the current year, we’ll see the Saudi woman efficiently driving the Middle East’s speediest train.”

The Haramain train service inaugurated in 2018 is 450 kilometers long, has five stations, plans on transporting some 60 million passengers annually, and connects the holy cities of Mecca and Madina via the port city of Jeddah. The decision to welcome female train conductors is part of a series of measures taken by the kingdom to empower women, including allowing women to drive – for the first time in the country’s history – to travel without the approval of a male guard, and to apply for a passport.