Gulf railway project hits a red light

Dubai : Works on the Gulf Railway Project has been postponed from 2018 until 2020-2021, a report said yesterday.

This was reportedly announced by the committee of the ministers of transport in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Gazette quoting Al Arabiya said that the railway project which passes through 6 Gulf countries from Kuwait to Oman has met several technical difficulties.

The total length of the railway project is about 2,116 km with around 663 km of it passing through Saudi Arabia. The project, according to Al Arabia, starts from Kuwait City and will reach Bahrain through a new causeway to be established parallel to King Fahd Causeway. It will then move from Saudi Arabia to the UAE through Batha border point and will reach Muscat via Sohar.

Meanwhile, Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, the UAE’s Minister of Infrastructure Development was quoted as saying by Al-Khaleej daily that his country is ready to fully implement the project.

He told the daily that around “160 kilometers of the constructed railways which are currently in use can be used for the massive project.”