The development at Saudi Arabia’s $1.5 trillion magnum opus Neom City sometimes seems surreal. Detractors and cynics on one end, budget constraints on the other, and news of scaling back (a disappointment for optimistic fans), everything seems to fade into the background as new developments continue to break ground in the northwest of Saudi Arabia to pave a new way of life.
The Line’s railway route called The Spine is a marvel that, when ready, will run the length of 170 km covering a large expanse from the Red Sea coast inland towards Tabuk. Fascinatingly, the vast distance of The Line (170 km), has been claimed by the makers of Neom City to be covered in only 20 minutes from end-to-end.
Going by those numbers, the high-speed rail will, in fact, stay true to its name and mesmerize residents and visitors by boasting a speed of 317 mph (510 km/h). As The Line is a car-free development, nearly 9 million residents and visitors will rely on ‘The Spine’ to travel from one end of The Line to the other. With so much dependency on this mode of transport, it is certainly aptly named. Like human bodies coming to a standstill without their spine, the “smart” linear city will also heavily rely on the high-speed rail.
When compared to the fastest trains worldwide, the Spine will literally race ahead. Shanghai’s Maglev, which is also the worlds first high-speed magnetic levitation line boasts a maximum operation speed of 280 mph (450 kmph) and runs on a 19 mile track.
Across the Pacific, Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train, a world-famous high-speed railway line, reaches a top speed of 199 mph (320 km/h). This proves that the speedy Spine rail of The Line is indeed a spectacle and will be one of Neom City’s most spellbinding aspects upon completion.
In addition to the incredibly intriguing high-speed The Spine, Neom City will boast another high-speed railway called The Connector, running along the Red Sea coast, that will connect two of Neom’s significant areas, the port city of Oxagon, touted to become the world’s largest floating structure with the futuristic The Line. To fast track this project, a whopping $1.5 billion was awarded to the Connector, which will link two of the main planned mega-cities of Neom, per newcivilengineer. Surely it doesn’t sound like a pipe dream anymore!
