UAE ยท Gulf logistics
Saudi rail freight reached 15.6 million tonnes in 2024
Saudi Arabia's railways moved 15.6 million tonnes of freight in 2024, up from 10.9 million in 2020. The East Train carried 887,865 standard containers in 2024.
Sources checked
The table shows container counts alongside the chart's weight series.
Freight weight rose every year in the series
Rail freight grew by about 4.76 million tonnes from 2020 to 2024, roughly 44%. It rose about 9% in the latest year, from 14.32 million tonnes in 2023 to 15.62 million in 2024. Source 1
Containers grew faster in the latest year
The count rose from 698,970 in 2023 to 887,865 in 2024, up 27%. GASTAT attributes those standard containers to the East Train. Container counts and tonne totals cannot be added, and a change in count alone does not show how much weight moved. Source 1 Source 2
Bulk commodities contribute to the freight mix
GASTAT identifies bauxite at about 5.26 million tonnes and phosphate at 4.79 million tonnes on the North and East lines in 2024. The two commodities together account for roughly 10 million tonnes of the total based on the published rounded breakdown. Source 2
Freight trips and freight distance tell separate stories
The rail publication reports 6,807 freight trips on the two main freight lines in 2024, up from 5,200. It also reports train kilometres and tonne-kilometres separately. Tonne-kilometres account for distance travelled as well as weight. Source 2