* Over 6,000 km of track may be laid by end of decade
* GCC governments envisage spending some $100 bln
* Population growth, diversifying economies behind plans
* Would boost trade, reduce dependence on Hormuz Strait
* But projects face technical, political obstacles
By Martin Dokoupil
DUBAI, Oct 31 (Reuters) – A century after Lawrence of Arabia
cut the Damascus-Medina railway, governments are embarking on
plans to restore long-distance rail transport in the region and
extend it across the Arabian Peninsula.
Official figures suggest around $100 billion may be spent by
the end of this decade laying over 6,000 kilometres (3,750
miles) o f track for both national lines and a route linking all
the states in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
The governments face big technical challenges, such as
making six national rail systems compatible and building on the
shifting sands of remote deserts.
But success could have far-reaching effects on economies in
the region, cutting their dependence on expensive road and air
travel, boosting trade and even bringing the GCC closer together
politically.
“It will undoubtedly transform the economies as any major
piece of railway does,” said Keith Hampson, director of global
rail transit at Aecom, a U.S.-based transport planning firm.
“It opens up all sorts of trading relationships that
probably otherwise would not have existed.”
<——————————————————–
