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| The Business of... |
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| Rail in the GCC |
| Contractors are being shortlisted for the construction of a $15.5bn rail network which will run from Kuwait to Oman and Yemen. We assess the opportunities it will bring for big business, backpackers and commuters. |
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 The GCC rail network, due for completion in 2016, promises a new age of faster, more direct and less polluting travel in the Middle East.
The $15.5 billion network will have a total length of 2,177km, connecting Kuwait in the northwest to Oman in the east, via Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE. It will make it possible to travel from Qatar to Bahrain in an hour, or from Kuwait to Oman in six hours.
The GCC railway is also expected to extend to Yemen, and will link in with urban transit systems such as the Dubai Metro and other proposed systems in other countries. Some have suggested that it may eventually be possible to travel all the way from Oman to Istanbul by train.
With contracts to build the network set to be awarded at the end of the year, we look at the scale of the Gulf’s rail ambitions, the costs involved, and likely specifications of the network. With the Middle East poised as one of world’s major growth markets for railways, there are plenty of opportunities on offer for both big business, backpackers and commuters.
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