Signal · Geopolitical Risk

‎Saudi train passengers rise 5% to 41M in Q3 2026

Argaam - Main News Trade press Published 20th October 2026 Saudi Arabia

What the source reported

Source-reported

‎<img src="https://argaamplus.s3.amazonaws.com/0cd95d1c-4044-4ad3-bc73-3d9ed8a73e54.png" > <hr> <div data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody" > Saudi railways transported more than 40.9 million passengers in Q3 2026, a growth of 5% year-on-year (YoY) compared to about 39 million passengers, according to latest statistics issued by the Transport General Authority (TGA). Meanwhile, mineral and freight transport declined 4.6% YoY to 3.9 million tons in Q3 2026, compared to 4.1 million tons in the same period last year. <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="4" > Saudi Railways Traffic in Q3 2026 </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Item </td> <td > Q3 2025 </td> <td > Q3 2026 </td> <td > Change </td> </tr> <tr > <td > No. of Passengers (mln) </td> <td > 39.0 </td> <td > 40.9 </td> <td > 5% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Minerals and Freight (mIn) </td> <td > 4.09 </td> <td > 3.90 </td> <td > (5%) </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div ></div> The Riyadh Metro accounted for about 79% of total intracity passengers, amounting to 38.3 million, during the three-month period, compared to 69% in Q3 2025. <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="4" > Intracity Passenger Distribution (mIn) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Item </td> <td > Q3 2025 </td> <td > Q3 2026 </td> <td > Change </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Riyadh Metro </td> <td > 25.2 </td> <td > 30.40 </td> <td > 21% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > APM at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah </td> <td > 10.2 </td> <td > 7.00 </td> <td > (31%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > APM at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah </td> <td > 0.97 </td> <td > 0.91 </td> <td > (6%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Total </td> <td > 36.3 </td> <td > 38.30 </td> <td > 6% </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div ></div> The Haramain High-Speed Railway accounted for around 76% of the total 2.5 million intercity passengers in Q3 2026, compared with approximately 77% in the same period of 2025. The East Train accounted for around 16%, while the North Train accounted for 10%, as shown in the following table. <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="4" > Intercity Passenger Distribution (mIn) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Item </td> <td > Q3 2025 </td> <td > Q3 2026 </td> <td > Change </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Haramain High-Speed Railway </td> <td > 2.07 </td> <td > 1.90 </td> <td > (8%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > SAR East Train </td> <td > 0.38 </td> <td > 0.39 </td> <td > 4% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > SAR North Train </td> <td > 0.25 </td> <td > 0.26 </td> <td > 3% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Total </td> <td > 2.70 </td> <td > 2.50 </td> <td > (7%) </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div ></div> The total volume of freight and minerals transported via the SAR North Train network exceeded 3.5 million tons in Q3 2026, down 5% from approximately 3.68 million tons in the same period of 2025. Freight and minerals transported via the SAR East Train network also declined to 398,800 tons, down 4% from 414,900 tons in Q3 2025. Meanwhile, the number of standard containers transported across the network fell to 46,300, down 80% compared with about 227,000 in the same period last year, as shown in the following table. <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="4" > Freight and Minerals Transported by Rail </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Train </td> <td > Freight and Minerals Transported during Q3 2025 </td> <td > Freight and Minerals Transported during Q3 2026 </td> <td > Change </td> </tr> <tr > <td > SAR North Train network (mln tons) </td> <td > 3.68 </td> <td > 3.50 </td> <td > (5%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > SAR East Train network (‘000 tons) </td> <td > 414.9 </td> <td > 398.8 </td> <td > (4%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > SAR East Train network (‘000 standard containers) </td> <td > 227.00 </td> <td > 46.30 </td> <td > (80%) </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div ></div> The total number of rail passengers in Saudi Arabia reached nearly 123.4 million in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% compared with around 111.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Data monitored by Argaam showed that passenger traffic during the nine-month period comprised 116.04 million intracity passengers and 7.34 million intercity passengers. The following table shows the development of rail passenger numbers since the beginning of 2026. <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="4" > Rail Passenger Traffic Since the Beginning of 2026 (mln) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Period </td> <td > Intracity </td> <td > Intercity </td> <td > Total </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Q1 2026 </td> <td > 41.6 </td> <td > 2.60 </td> <td > 44.2 </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Q2 </td> <td > 36.14 </td> <td > 2.24 </td> <td > 38.4 </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Q3 </td> <td > 38.30 </td> <td > 2.50 </td> <td > 40.9 </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Total </td> <td > 116.04 </td> <td > 7.34 </td> <td > 123.4 </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div ></div> </div>

Publication: Argaam - Main News · Trade Publication
Published: 20th October 2026
Original report: argaam.com

ProcIntel stores what the source published in its feed — a headline, a summary and a link. It does not store or reproduce the full article.

What ProcIntel recorded

ProcIntel-derived

Category: Geopolitical Risk
Geography: Saudi Arabia
Organisations: None identified
Collected: 20th October 2026 · 18:36

Initial assessment ProcIntel's automatic, provisional read of this individual Signal -- Initial Significance and Initial Confidence, computed deterministically before any Event extraction or human review.

A provisional, automatically computed reading of this individual Signal, before Event extraction or human review. Not a final rating.

Significance 1 · Low

Confidence 2 · Low

Initial Significance Low (16.0/100). Strongest contributor: Procurement Impact (6.0/30 points). Limiting factor: Geographic Breadth (0.0/10 points). Initial Confidence Low (31.5/100, data sufficiency: Partial). Strongest contributor: Source Authority (20.0/40 points). Limiting factor: Corroboration (2.5/25 points).

Strongest contributor: Procurement Impact
Limiting factor: Geographic Breadth

What the source reported

What ProcIntel recorded

Initial assessment ⓘMore about Initial Signal AssessmentProcIntel's automatic, provisional read of this individual Signal -- Initial Significance and Initial Confidence, computed deterministically before any Event extraction or human review.

Initial assessment ProcIntel's automatic, provisional read of this individual Signal -- Initial Significance and Initial Confidence, computed deterministically before any Event extraction or human review.