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From Two Hours to 30 Minutes: Qiddiya Bullet Train to Cut Riyadh Travel Time by 75%

A Riyadh Metro train carriage in the Saudi capital (SPA). 
A Riyadh Metro train carriage in the Saudi capital (SPA). 
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From Two Hours to 30 Minutes: Qiddiya Bullet Train to Cut Riyadh Travel Time by 75%

A Riyadh Metro train carriage in the Saudi capital (SPA). 
A Riyadh Metro train carriage in the Saudi capital (SPA). 

Qiddiya is set to become significantly more accessible under plans to link the entertainment and tourism hub to King Salman International Airport and the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) through the new Qiddiya Bullet Train.

The project will reduce travel time to around 30 minutes, down from nearly two hours using other transport options, a 75% cut in commuting time. Operational speeds are expected to reach 250 kilometers per hour, according to the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

The railway forms part of a broader transport strategy aimed at improving connectivity across the capital and enhancing mobility between key destinations, in line with population growth and urban expansion in western and southwestern Riyadh.

In a related development, the commission announced the awarding of the Red Line extension of the Riyadh Metro to Diriyah. The expansion includes 7.1 kilometers of tunnels and 1.3 kilometers of elevated track, with stations at King Saud University and Diriyah. The latter is expected to serve as a future interchange with the planned Line 7.

Officials estimate the project could remove around 150,000 cars from daily traffic, improving access to tourist destinations such as Bujairi Terrace and Wadi Safar, while supporting more sustainable mobility patterns.

Bandar Al-Saadoun, Vice Chairman of Khaleejiah Holding, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Diriyah development ranks among the largest projects under Vision 2030. He pointed to additional landmark initiatives in Wadi Safar, alongside the Opera House project and King Salman Grand Mosque.

He said extending the Red Line along King Abdullah Road to Diriyah would generate strong real estate demand, particularly as the rail network integrates routes from King Salman International Airport through KAFD, Diriyah and the New Murabba development.

Al-Saadoun added that roughly 30 projects have been announced in Qiddiya, raising the prospect of gradual real estate growth along corridors connected to the rail line. The project’s links to major developments — including Expo 2030 Riyadh, New Murabba and The Avenues — as well as the airport, expected to become one of the world’s largest by 2030, are likely to reinforce demand.

Real estate analyst Khaled Almobid said large-scale transport projects such as the Qiddiya Bullet Train do more than lift prices; they reshape market structure and asset values over the medium and long term.

Historically, properties within one to three kilometers of transport stations see capital appreciation and rising investment demand, particularly for undeveloped “white land,” which often transitions into higher-density projects, he remarked.

Almobid expects a dual impact: both redistribution of demand within Riyadh and genuine market expansion driven by what he called “manufactured demand” from Qiddiya, which is projected to attract 17 million visitors and generate 325,000 jobs. He also anticipates a population shift toward western Riyadh and areas surrounding the new stations.

Land prices near Qiddiya have already risen between 30% and 40% since 2023, reflecting early market anticipation, he said, predicting more sustainable growth once operations begin and prices align with the tangible value of cutting travel time to 30 minutes between the airport, KAFD and Qiddiya.

Residential and tourism-related real estate are likely to lead the next phase, supported by Saudi Arabia’s goal of raising homeownership to 70% and attracting 150 million annual visitors by 2030, with mixed-use locations along the rail corridor expected to draw the strongest investment interest.

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Business

IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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IEA Sees Gradual Hormuz Recovery Tipping Into Significant 2027 Surplus

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

The world oil market will recover gradually from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before tipping into a significant surplus in 2027, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.

The US and Iran reached an agreement to end the three-month-old war, which includes Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz ⁠and the US lifting ⁠its naval blockade, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history which shut in over 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output, according ⁠to the IEA.

"If the deal holds, exports and production from the Gulf should see a gradual recovery – not least because Iranian oil exports can fully resume once the US blockade is lifted," the agency, which advises industrialized countries, said.

The oil market will then enter a significant supply overhang next year, the IEA said ⁠in ⁠its first look at 2027, with global oil supply set to surge by 8 million bpd and demand rising by just 2 million bpd.

"This may provide a welcome respite to the market and an opportunity to replenish depleted inventories, or to build new strategic reserves, as countries review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis."

Business

US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady at Warsh’s First Meeting in Charge

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Fed Set to Hold Rates Steady at Warsh’s First Meeting in Charge

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a speech on the day of his swearing-in ceremony, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday at Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the central bank, with rate hikes potentially on the horizon to combat surging inflation.

Warsh has presided over the two-day meeting of the Fed's open market committee (FOMC) this week, with a decision to be announced at 2:00 pm local time (1800 GMT) on Wednesday.

US inflation came in at a three-year high in April. It has been fueled this year by President Donald Trump's war on Iran, which saw energy prices skyrocket, with knock-on effects on a range of sectors.

With the labor market firming, Fed policymakers flagged an increased concern about inflation, and rate hikes are potentially in the pipeline to tame raging prices.

Such a move would be sure to anger Trump, who has launched an unprecedented campaign of intimidation to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.

Warsh has backed interest rate cuts in the recent past, despite inflation remaining well above the Fed's long-term two-percent target -- it was 3.8 percent in April, according to the central bank's preferred gauge.

On Wednesday, however, analysts expect Warsh to join other policymakers in allowing the energy price shock to wash over the world's largest economy before making a move.

"I think he's going to be in the wait-and-see camp," said Dan North of Allianz Trade. "It's pretty hard to justify a cut when you've got inflation in the pipeline already."

- 'Fractured' -

While Wednesday's decision is all but certain to hold interest rates at a range between 3.50 and 3.75 percent, all eyes will be on the language the Fed uses in its statement.

At least four of 12 voting members of the committee have backed a change in wording to indicate that the next rate move could just as likely be a hike as a cut.

Warsh himself has called for removing the Fed's forward guidance messaging altogether, arguing that it locks policymakers into a position rather than allowing them to react to changing situations.

Still, change at the central bank tends to be gradual, and analysts do not expect Warsh to take a big swing at his first meeting in charge.

"It may be a more fractured environment, certainly," Greg Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, told AFP.

"In this first instance, he may be going to suggest some changes to communication, and we may be in the early steps of a move towards more discretionary decisions when it comes to monetary policy."

Wednesday's announcement will also see the release of the Fed's quarterly summary of economic projections, which includes policymakers' expectations on inflation, growth and the interest-rate path.

As part of his "reform-oriented" agenda, Warsh has called for the Fed to drop its "dot-plot," an anonymized projection of where Fed leaders expect rates to go.

On Wednesday, the new Fed chair is expected to withhold his own "dot," but analysts say he is unlikely to drop the entire exercise immediately.

- 'Not helping his case' -

Pao-Lin Tien, an economics professor at George Washington University, told AFP that moving towards more opaque monetary policymaking could mean inflation expectations are less anchored.

"I think our fear would be that without the forward guidance, inflation expectations might become a little bit more volatile," she said.

As for Trump, any move short of a rate cut is likely to anger the Republican, who wants to see the Fed lower borrowing costs to increase economic activity -- despite the already high inflation.

"President Trump is not helping his own case by making these demands so openly, it makes it harder for anyone he appoints to actually do that," said Tien.

"He does the opposite of what he needs to do in order to make sure the rates go lower," she added, referring to the war on Iran.

Business

UK Inflation Holds Steady at 2.8% Ahead of Bank of England Decision

A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)
A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)
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UK Inflation Holds Steady at 2.8% Ahead of Bank of England Decision

A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)
A shopper in a London supermarket (EPA)

British inflation unexpectedly held at 2.8% for May, unchanged from the 13-month low reached in April, official figures showed on Wednesday, a day before the Bank of England will announce its next interest rate decision.

Sterling weakened a little against the US dollar after the data and investors slightly trimmed their expectations for a rate rise later this year.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise to 3.0% for May, as the US-Iran war kept British inflation almost a percentage point higher than the BoE had forecast in February.

Lower prices than in April for meat, ⁠vegetables and dairy products ⁠as well as domestic heating oil helped offset a jump in airfares and petrol, the Office for National Statistics said.

Inflation has been above the BoE's 2% target for most of the past five years.

In April, the BoE said it was likely to rise above 3.5% by the end of the year and potentially exceed 6% early next year under the most adverse of three scenarios.

However, ⁠financial markets this week have drawn comfort from an interim agreement between the US and Iran which promises to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major corridor for oil exports, and is due to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.

"Today's data strengthens the case for a continued cautious approach from the Bank of England," Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, said.

"Underlying inflationary pressures have yet to show clear signs of strengthening, which is likely to underpin a majority decision within the Monetary Policy Committee to hold interest rates at Thursday's meeting," she said.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee to vote 7-2 to keep rates on hold at 3.75%.

While Governor Andrew Bailey says ⁠the BoE has ⁠time to wait to assess the impact of the conflict, some policymakers worry businesses will use it to raise prices more broadly, or that it could dent households' confidence in the BoE inflation target.

Britain has been more affected than most Western countries by the conflict due to its reliance on imported natural gas and manufacturers reported an 8.7% annual rise in their raw material costs for May, the biggest since February 2023.

Services price inflation - which the BoE views as a guide to underlying price pressures - rose to 3.7% in May from 3.2% in April, in line with economists' forecasts.

The rise in services inflation partly reflected a 10.3% monthly jump in airfares, which are volatile. High Easter prices were not captured in April 2026 data but were in 2025.

Core inflation, which excludes food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose slightly less than expected to 2.6% from 2.5%.