UAE finalises National Railway plan
this is very important news for the EC investors:
UAE finalises National Railway plan
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE's Minister of Government Sector Development, has said plans are being finalised for a 350 kilometre long national railway network to ease road congestion.The track will link Abu Dhabi to the East coast and will eventually be connected with the proposed GCC-wide railway network.
No timetable or cost estimate was given for the scheme which would accommodate both cargo and passengers.UAE ports are also experiencing a significant rise in container volume as the country grows as a trading and transshipment hub. Arab cities are looking at building rail networks to reduce the ever-increasing pressure on roads as populations grow. The GCC states have been talking about creating a GCC railway network for years but so far concrete plans have not been presented publicly.
According to French train manufacturer Alstom, which is bidding for projects in the Gulf, the planned US$3-billion, trans-Emirate rail system will be 700 kilometres long and connect Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah to Ghewaifat through Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A consortium, led by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is currently building a Dh15.5-billion urban rail network in Dubai. The two metro lines under construction will be ready by 2010. The city plans to lay more than 300 kilometres of tracks. The proposed new lines include two links from Dubai International Airport to the upcoming airport in Jebel Ali. Abu Dhabi is working on a plan for an inter-city train network and metro lines to create a transport system compatible with large-scale real estate, tourism and industrial projects under way in the Emirate.
Source:Skyscrapercity
national Railway Plan
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Thanks Imre.
This is definately icing on the cake for the EC investors.
Lee
I don't know about the
I don't know about the details of the planned railway network but connecting Abu-Dhabi to the estern coast does not pass by Ajman or Emirates City. unless the railway will go through the East coast the crosses the Ras Al Khaimah mountains to the East coast, which is quite unlikely.
quite strange if the railway
quite strange if the railway would not make a stop in Ajman as well - or at least some part of it.
One would think that the railway would join the whole of U,A.E - but we have to wait and see. In the end, the railways do not always go in straight line...
Work on railway line to begin next year
Work on railway line to begin next year
Dubai: Work is expected to begin next year on a UAE railway line that will connect all the emirates via an 800-km track.
A consortium of German rail companies is advising the federal government on the multi-billion-dollar project, according to industry sources. The single-track route will connect the UAE-Saudi border with Fujairah and Khor Fakkan on the east coast.
A decision on main contractors and financing arrangements is expected soon. Initially the railway line will be used for carrying freight, while passenger services will be introduced later.
Key UAE ports and cargo hubs will be connected with the railway line.
The national rail project is part of a GCC-wide rail network, which has been proposed to achieve greater economic integration among Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
It is also designed to promote political and social integration as a unified rail transport system will make travelling easier within the region. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have large rail projects that will be connected to the GCC system. Later Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Iraq may also get connected with the network.
It has also been suggested that the network should link Yemen with the GCC.
Iraq connection
Kuwait is thinking about having a rail link with Iraq, said Ramiz Al Assar, a Riyadh-based senior transport specialist of the World Bank. The GCC authorities are taking concrete steps to develop the regional railway system, he told the MEED Middle East Rail Projects conference in Dubai yesterday.
"The feasibility study started in September. It will be completed in 12 months," Al Assar said.
The proposed GCC track will run along coastal areas from Kuwait to Oman.
A GCC railway network has been talked about for years but progress has been slow due to a lack of coordination among the member states.
Al Assar said now a decision has been taken by the GCC leaders to go ahead with the plan. "They are serious, they are committed. It is on top of their agenda," he said.
Saudi and Kuwaiti links on track
Saudi Arabia's North-South Railway project will link Riyadh with Buraydah, Hail and Qurayyat as well as the mines at Al Jalamid and Al Zabirah to Ras Al Zawr.
The construction cost for the 3,600-kilometre rail track is $10 billion, a delegate at the conference told Gulf News. Its completion is planned by 2010.
The 1,200 East-West Railway will link Jeddah to Riyadh and Jubail and the Western Railway will connect Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah and Yanbu. It will have one line for cargo and one for passenger trains.
Kuwait is expected to begin implementing its project studies in 2008 for one 400-kilometre track and one 200-kilometre track. Each project is expected to cost $7 billion.
(Gulfnews)
Rail Way Line
Thanks Imre for this fantastic information.
No doubt the benefit for the all the investors will be unimaginable on completion, Insha Allaha!
Lee