Advantages of GCC rail network

GCC member countries will in all probability approve the final proposals for a $14 billion, 1,500km-long railway project that will run from Kuwait's border with Iraq, down the Gulf coast to the Omani port of Salalah on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Three consultants - French rail group Systra, Canada's Canarail and Lebanese consultant Khatib & Alarni - are finalising the draft proposals, which incorporate revisions addressing financial concerns raised by member states.

GCC states have been independently developing their sections of the rail line but some aspects of the overall project have yet to be finalised. Under the proposed plan, each GCC state will pay for its own section of the rail network, which will leave Saudi Arabia and Oman paying a much higher proportion of the cost.

A proposal to share the overall expense evenly was rejected because the countries involved are moving ahead with work at different speeds.

France's Systra has already won the contract to carry out preparatory work for the construction of Oman's section of the GCC Railway project.

It will conduct a four-month study into track alignment for the first phase of the railway, which will run from the port city of Sohar to the capital Muscat. The company will also suggest the location of stations along the 230km route.

GCC member states also appear to have agreed that the regulation of the railway should be under taken by a single body. No decision has been taken on where this regulator will be based, although given the location of the secretariat in Riyadh, the Saudi capital appears the obvious choice.

Are railways an entirely new idea for the region? Not so. In the pre- World War I era trains had ferried goods from Cairo to Jerusalem, and pilgrims could travel by rail from Damascus to Medina. What happened after that? Why was it that no effort was taken to maintain the existing system, leave alone creating new ones?

The obvious reason could be that railways were expensive to build and costed a fortune to maintain. Very few rail operators have ever been able to turn a profit. So the only places in the Arab world that has a semblance of railways are countries such as Syria and Egypt, which had planned economies and transport subsidies. Elsewhere, air and road transport and container ships gradually eclipsed rail transport altogether.

It is only recently that Arab governments began to ask themselves whether this was a good thing.

Governments are beginning to look at railways not only as part of an integrated transport network but also as part of a productive economic strategy. Individually, one rail line may struggle to pay its way. But an efficient national or regional network can connect remote industries with the broader economy.

The railway project complements other major projects such the GCC grid network, water linkage, and the intelligent ID card project that will facilitate movement of GCC citizens between the Gulf countries.

The two holy cities, Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia will also be connected to all GCC nations.

Countries other than the GCC that would likely join the project are Iraq, Turkey and Yemen as well.

Meanwhile, President Hu Jintao of China recently wrapped up his visit in Saudi Arabia with a contract to build a monorail in Mecca. The $1.8 billion deal was won by the China Railway Corporation to build a mass transit system for pilgrims on the annual Haj to the city. The contract was the second rail project in a week involving Mecca to be awarded to a Chinese company. The line covered by the deal will link Mecca with the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

In the UAE, Abu Dhabi has announced plans to build a metro network, following in the footsteps of neighbouring Dubai.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport says it has invited leading international consultancies to prepare a study to build the metro.

It says the rail system would be about 131km long, and would connect the island city with suburbs and new urban areas being developed.

Dubai is expected in September to start operating the first metro system in the Gulf, which is being built in a bid to cut traffic congestion.

The mostly-elevated 70km driverless network is being built by a consortium led by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries under a $3.3 billion contract awarded in 2005.

Work on Bahrain's new monorail network could start in the first half of 2010, according to officials.

A 23km track linking some of the country's most congested areas could be the first phase of Bahrain's new monorail network.

Malaysian firm Scomi Engineering is conducting a feasibility study for the three-phase project. The entire project, measuring 83km, could be completed by 2030.

The idea of a unified, co-operative regional economy is a highly attractive one, and the economies of the Gulf have clearly reached a size where the economics of such massive transport projects make sense.