Establishing Tomorrow

Connecting the lengths and breadths of nations – a rail network is essential for
growth. If that is an understatement, so is the fact that the UAE needed a rail
network yesterday! Updates seem positive.

The region’s rail plans are best described as immense

These days, the GCC’s rail sector is receiving global attention. And for good reason. The plans are ambitiously immense, as well as being a lucrative incentive for private investment. It is no wonder then, that updates on the ongoing projects are being received with open ears.

These days, the GCC’s rail sector is receiving global attention. And for good reason. The plans are ambitiously immense, as well as being a lucrative incentive for private investment. It is no wonder then, that updates on the ongoing projects are being received with open ears.

From Saudi to Sharjah, rail initiatives are materialising almost daily, seeking to lessen the congested roads as well as facilitate borderless trade. Some plans are local, like light rail and automated metro systems, to regional, which include an international GCC line, similar to Europe’s Eurorail. Once completed, this GCC line will provide a direct link between ports on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf.

Regarding the GCC line, there are issues still to be worked out however, as countries have not reached consensus on the cost structure of the project. “If each state built its share of the rail network, it would be a very feasible project,” says Abdullah Alkatheeri, Director of the land transport department at the National Transport Authority. “I think it’s a political project and I think it is something we have to work on to tie the economics.”

“Final recommendations for the GCC line should be expected within the next six months,” says Dr. Ramiz Al Assar, a senior transport analyst at the World Bank, who has been advising the GCC secretariat on establishing rail links.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have continued to drive the region in terms of rail progress. Aside from the GCC project, each is exercising its own initiatives. Saudi’s desire to diversify its economy away from oil remains a crucial role in the Kingdom’s upcoming North-South line. With an abundance of natural resources in the mining sector, specifically phosphate and bauxite, the North-South line is forecasted to handle 10 million tonnes of mineral deposits annually. By October 2010, Saudi expects to have the mineral line operational, with an initial 780 wagons set to go. Through time, additional traffic will include petrochemical and agricultural products, and eventually make way for passenger travel.

When complete, the North-South line will span a distance of 2,380 kilometres, consist of 107 bridges and 2,679 culverts. To say the line’s construction is a large assignment, would be an understatement. In terms of earthworks, the project is unprecedented. Official figures have calculated that 497 million cubic metres of sand must be removed to make way for it. Consider that when the pyramids of Egypt were constructed, some 2.6 million cubic metres of sand was relocated. The Great Wall of China required 322 million cubic metres of soil removed. These were enormous projects, that took centuries to complete. Factor in Saudi Arabia’s unforgiving climate, and the timely supply of goods in such desolate regions, and the size and expediency of the project remains unparalleled.

In the UAE, Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to implement their own individual light rail systems, as well as a cohesive trans-Emirate network. The requirement for a rail link in the UAE remains motivated by the need to move freight faster and cheaper, and in time, passenger services will lessen the congestion on the Emirates’ roads.

Dubai’s rail and master plan will tie together all future light and railway networks with existing projects, such as the metro and Al Sufouh tram system, each designed to take the strain off the city’s congested roads. It will also integrate these with the proposed national railway network traversing the UAE. The first phase of the UAE’s rail network will have a double track railway built from Ruwais in Abu Dhabi and stretching to Fujairah. Eventually, there would be about 900 kilometres of track running from the Saudi border to the northern UAE coast.

Some of Abu Dhabi’s current plans indicate a metro with stations on Abu Dhabi island, connecting to Musaffah industrial zone, the planned cities of Capital City and Masdar, Abu Dhabi International Airport, as well as various islands under development, including Yas Island, the future home of the Formula One Grand Prix. “This is not final, but basically the numbers that we have indicate that we need a metro network in Abu Dhabi,” says Abdelgader Elshabani of the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport. “In the future, it will be important to link Abu Dhabi to Dubai. We need to have this connection to Dubai through a regional rail system and as a matter of fact we have begun reserving space for that.”

Abu Dhabi’s network of tram lines is scheduled to open in 2015, while the metro is planned for 2020 and regional rail may be completed between 2020 and 2030. So while the Emirate is still a while away from completion of such projects, at least officials have acknowledged the need for such transport and are actively seeking solutions. Time will tell.