(Update : 26.01.2016) Plans for a 1,350-mile railroad running the length of the Persian Gulf from Kuwait to the Indian Ocean are in doubt after the United Arab Emirates halted contract awards amid a review of spending as oil proceeds shrink.
According to the Kuwait News Agency, the council’s decision means the Ministry of Communications can begin to coordinate its plans with other government ministries and agencies to finalise an alignment for the route. The ministry is currently prequalifying consultants for design work on the project and construction is expected to begin next year. The Gulf States Railway will ultimately link Iraq with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman. Source : IRJ | 24.01.2015
Road and rail infrastructure in the Middle East is rapidly improving with new modes of public transport such as the metro, monorail, light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT) being introduced across urban centers in the region. By 2017, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will have a railway network connecting all the member countries. Modernizing the transport infrastructure has the potential to bring environmental, economic and social benefits to the region.
Transportation projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait worth an estimated $170 billion will change the way trade is done. Railway projects alone will be worth an investment of $108 bill.
The entire regional project will be developed along main two lines. An approximately 2,000 km line will connect all the countries of the oil-rich bloc, while a second 1,840-km one will loop through the southern part, between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman.
The rail system around the Islamic holy cities of Medina and Mecca has already been completed. Qatar, which will be hosting the Football World Cup in 2022, has allocated 35 billion dollars for projects to create 130 km of a four-line underground train network expected to be completed in 2019.
Kuwait will commence initial steps to embark on the national railway system as part of a plan to make the system fully operational by late 2018, said a Kuwaiti official here Wednesday. On the sideline of a workshop regarding the GCC railway project, Kuwait’s Ministry of Communications Executive Abdulhadi Al-Marri told KUNA that the Kuwaiti national railway system will be connected to the overall GCC railway project which would aim at improving transportation in the region. Source : ArabTimes
Kuwait will commence initial steps to embark on the national railway system as part of a plan to make the system fully operational by late 2018, a Kuwaiti official said yesterday.
Sources : GulfNews & Emirates247
Kuwait News
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