Production has started on Dream of the Desert, the first luxury train service in Saudi Arabia, scheduled to cut a swathe across the kingdom's spectacular desert interior by the end of 2025.
Made in Italy, by hospitality company Arsenale Group, and commissioned by Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR), the 40-cabin train will run on 800 miles of existing railway lines from the capital Riyadh to Al Qurayyat in the northern province of Al Jawf, making stops along the way. The planned one- to two-day route takes in Al Qassim, Hail and Al Jouf, on the edge of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Nature Reserve, before it terminates some 20 miles from the border with Jordan.
SAR chief executive Bashar bin Khalid Al-Malik said the train service would enable Saudis and tourists to explore more of the Kingdom when he signed an agreement with Arsenale CEO, Paolo Barletta, on Tuesday. The railway carriages will be built in Italy, Barletta said, but would be “fully customized and inspired by Saudi style and tradition."
The Italian company is already working in collaboration with Orient Express on La Dolce Vita, a new luxury rail service with six itineraries criss-crossing Italy, set to launch this year. Arsenale has also signed an agreement with the UAE's national railway company, Etihad Railway, to develop a luxury train that will travel across the Middle Eastern peninsula. The ventures come as luxury train cruising is set to become a popular post-Covid travel trend.
The update on Dream of the Desert is one of many as Saudi Arabia fast-tracks its ambitions to become a leading tourist destination, with plans to attract 150m visitors by the end of the decade. Last year was marked by news of hotel and resort developments across the Kingdom, from AlUla, the ancient oasis city near the sandstone monuments of Hegra; to the Red Sea coast and its islands; Sindalah Island, part of the Neom gigaproject; and the historic settlement of Diriyah.
A version of this story originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller Middle East.