Qatar–Bahrain Causeway

The Friendship Bridge (Arabic جسر المحبة Jisr al-Mahabba, DMG Ǧisr al-Maḥabba, English also Qatar-Bahrain Causeway) is a bridge under construction between Qatar and Bahrain. Completion of the bridge will provide the first direct rail and road link between the two countries, reducing car travel time to one hour. Without the bridge, a detour with a travel time of five hours via the mainland of Saudi Arabia has to be accepted so far.

With a length of 45 kilometers, the Friendship Bridge is to become the world's longest bridge over water. It will have two lanes in each direction, a hard shoulder and two additional tracks for freight and passenger trains. The passenger train from Doha to Manama is planned as a high speed train with a top speed of 350 km/h. Deutsche Bahn has secured this multi-billion euro contract with delivery of trains worth 17 billion euros, which is currently proceeding slowly.

The cost of the bridge was initially estimated at US$2.7 billion, and construction was scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010. Due to the financial crisis and the unresolved question of which railway technology would be used, the start of construction was initially postponed. Construction work started on the Qatar side in 2011, while Bahrain was still suffering the consequences of the financial crisis and cancelled the connecting construction in Bahrain. The construction work was expected to take four and a half years and cost $3 billion. Completion is not expected before 2022.