From Kuwait to Oman: The Path of the Gulf Railway Project

The planned Gulf Railway with a length of approximately 2019 km that would go across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE is an enormous project which plans to cost $ 250 billion and serves the purpose of improving infrastructure connectivity and driving economic development in the gulf region. These will comprise the route extending over a distance of more than two thousand kilometers this served the purpose of increasing trade and sustainability in the gulf cooperation council (GCC) nations.

Gulf Railway project encompasses major bi-lateral projects like Oman Rail which is a joint venture with the Etihad Railit Corporation and seeks to link from the UAE national rail network to the Sohar Port in Oman. Further, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are planning railway connectivity, and the King Hamad Causeway has remained very important and useful for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. These relationships should be expected to have a huge impact on trade integration and economic relations in the region. In this respect, the Gulf Railway project is not an isolated venture for the GCC but fits into a strategic image of the member-states for the purpose of creating an enhanced economic structure that is more integrated and sustainable. In enhancing the connectivity aspect, railway will help the national industries and embrace the people with job opportunities to enhance a better economy and make them more resilient.

The project also highlights the efforts that the GCC is seeking to improve the infrastructure as well as to enhance the economic integration in the member countries.

Scope

With the launch of the Gulf Railway project starting from year 2004, the principal goal is to increase better connectivity for transportation within the GCC countries. Several stages and elements can be defined in the discussed project. The implementation is in the hands of each member country, which should build its own segment of the system while referring to the domestic and international channels. For instance, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman have come a long way with Etihad Rail in the UAE being the leading company in the network.

Another major event offering much impetus to the project was the establishment of the GCC Railway Authority that would take responsibility of the construction and management of the railway system. The railway is anticipated to transport people and goods to and from different areas as a solution to the flying and roadway transport which is costly and time-consuming with reference to the movement and exchange of goods in the region.

The beginnings of the Gulf Railway will be in Kuwait City they will extend to Dammam in Saudi Arabia and then bifurcate to Bahrain and Qatar. From Qatar, it links through Salwa to Bahrain and from Bahrain back to Saudi Arabia. The part of the route in the UAE will run from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, and continues further to Oman and Muscat. This network is developed for improvement of trade and people’s mobility within GCC, with the potential to handle more than 95 million tones of freight and 8 million of passengers per year by 2045.