What the future holds

The entire Middle East seems to be getting a rail network. If all the projects materialise, the region should be well connected in the next few years.

The MENA region is burgeoning with plans for rail infrastructure, which are sparking much curiosity. The Rail Infrastructure MENA 2008 conference held on May 22 and 23 at the Park Hyatt was timely and had industry experts talking about the latest happenings in their respective countries.

Jordan has a comprehensive plan for the expansion of its rail infrastructure with the development of its Aqaba Port and the King Hussein Bin Talal Economic Zone (Mafraq). The core railway network is going to comprise a North-South Railway (NSR) route linking the Syrian Border to Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman, Maan and Aqaba. The East-West Railway (EWR) route would link Irbed to Mafraq, Zarqa and the Iraqi border, including the connection to Saudi Arabia. This core network may be supplemented by other rail lines, but with independent operations and with a limited impact on railway activity on the core network.

Dubai The work on Dubai metro is continuing at great speed. The government is investing heavily into making the metro a transport of choice for a large percentage of its residents, as currently only three per cent of the population use public transport services. The metro will have 74 kilometres of tracks with 47 stations requiring over 3,000 staff. The main challenge for authorities right now is the deadline looming ahead of September 9, 2009, the day the metro is scheduled for use.

Saudi Arabia has several projects under construction that propose to change the landscape of the kingdom in the next few years. The kingdom is working on the Saudi Landbridge, the Makkah-Madinah rail link and the North-South Rail link.

Iran’s capital, Tehran, and other satellite towns have experienced massive growth in the last few decades leading to road congestion. The government’s current rail project aims to link all the major towns in Iran, not just around Tehran, but also those that were insignificant until recently.

Turkey is looking beyond its borders for rail connections. Plans are afoot to have a 10,991 kilometre railway line which will link Hungary, Austria, Germany, Romania with Turkey on the European side and Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq and Syria on the Middle Eastern side.

Projects to link all the cities in Turkey with a speed train network are also underway with high speed tracks already being laid all around the country. Turkey also has the high profile Cream Project which is being planned by the European Commission. It involves 14 countries and will link the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) countries with Turkey. With a budget of Turkey New Lira (TRY) 49.1 million (US$40 million), the project aims to shorten transport time between Western Europe.

Oman The Omani government is in the process of studying the feasibility of establishing a rail network to connect all of its towns. Initially, Oman wants to get a rail link along the congested Batinah area in the north. The line will run from Barka to Shinas, near the UAE border, crossing the industrial city of Sohar.

Kuwait has major plans to link all its cities by train. The Kuwait Rapid Transit System has a proposed Metropolitan network with plans for extensions in the future metro lines development.

As per rumours at the conference, Kuwait’s project proposal has been in the pipeline for the last five years with nothing to show for it and now there is talk about the first phase needing another five years.