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With feasibility studies
underway for a nation-wide rail network and a pan-GCC
railway, it is only a matter of time before the Sultanate of
Oman begins to reap benefits from the railways
When the US’s great eastern and western rail networks
were linked in 1869, the final spike was cast out of gold to
symbolise the wealth, which the transcontinental railroad
would generate for the young country. In Russia, Tsar
Alexander I commissioned the Trans-Siberian railway to link
supplies of raw materials in the east with manufacturing
centres in the west, generating enough income to fund an
empire, which stretched across eleven time zones. The lesson
of history, it seems, is that train networks are vital
ingredients in a country’s economic development. Investing
in this particular mode of infrastructure lays the rails, so
to speak, for volumes of commerce which auto, sea, and air
networks would have trouble supporting. Having a rail
network is, therefore, a mark of a truly advanced economic
powerhouse.
Pan-GCC network
This point has not been lost on the GCC member
countries. After years of planning, a decision was reached
in 2004 to develop a pan-GCC rail network. The current
proposal, unveiled in 2009, calls for a line, which will
stretch, some 2000km from Kuwait’s border with Iraq down to
Salalah in the southern tip of Oman. Arabian Business
reported early this year that tenders for the estimated
$25bn network will be announced in the first quarter of
2010, with construction beginning by 2013 and the first
commercial use as early as 2017. Trains are to run at up to
180 km/h.
This project will link to a series of rail developments
already underway within the GCC. Saudi Arabia is far and
away the furthest ahead in the game, with over 1000km of
track already operational and two massive projects underway:
the North South Rail, an exclusively freight line linking
Riyadh to the north of the country, and the East-West rail,
also known as the Landbridge, which will link Jeddah to
Riyadh and upgrade the existing track onwards to Dammam.
The UAE has also spearheaded rail development with the
opening of the region’s first metro, in Dubai, and with the
Union Railway, which will link nascent networks throughout
the seven Emirates.
Qatar has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Deutsche
Bahn, the German state railway company, for a $25bn
integrated system of metro, tram, and intercity trains,
including a 40km causeway linking Bahrain. Only in Kuwait
have plans faltered somewhat. While the country is eager to
connect to the pan-GCC network, momentum to develop a metro
within Kuwait has dropped off significantly after a study in
2008 concluded the project would likely be a loss-maker.
Industrial links
Oman, for its part, has signalled its commitment to the
vision of a thoroughly rail-connected GCC with plans for a
northern rail network linking the industrial cities and
ports of Sohar, Barka, and Khatmat Malahah in the Batinah
region. The Sultanate appointed consultants to carry out a
feasibility study in April 2008 for a 200km line from Sohar
to Barka, but growing enthusiasm for rail projects has led
to a rapid widening in scope for the project. Authorities
have been exploring the feasibility of adding a branch line
in the Dhahirah region, and expanding into the capital.
This is the most complicated part of the project, as a
detailed study of traffic patterns – as they exist, and as
they are likely to develop – is needed to assess whether the
rail network should continue into the city on the ground
level or underground. At the moment, thanks to prudent
planning, Muscat does not suffer the legendary traffic seen
in many of the rapidly-growing capitals throughout the Gulf.
In cities like Doha, heavy industrial vehicles must slog
directly through the city centre in some cases, clogging
traffic arteries. In the fast-developing emirate of Ras Al
Khaimah, a lack of public transport means taxis must
sometimes be booked well in advance. The National
Engineering Office has partnered with Systra Consulting, a
French rail firm, to produce an exhaustive feasibility study
weighing the costs and benefits of the system.
They may well come up with surprising results. Given the
momentum building behind railway development in the rest of
the Gulf, many see Oman’s participation as a foregone
conclusion. But while a connection with the pan-GCC network
is a good idea, and the proposed Batinah line will do much
to ease congestion in the crucial industrial area, it is far
from certain that Oman needs a country-wide rail network in
the immediate future.
Support Structure
Existing transport infrastructure in Oman is fundamentally
different from that of its neighbours. Oman’s relatively
large territory – the second biggest in the GCC, after Saudi
Arabia – is already criss-crossed with a large road network.
Major paved highways link the cities and an efficient and
popular bus system is in place, both within the capital and
between cities.
Furthermore, the government has injected significant capital
into air transport options. The government’s airport
operator, Oman Airports Management, plans to award a dozen
contracts this year and next to upgrade facilities in Muscat
and Salalah, and build four additional airports along the
coast and in the country’s heartland. Additional capacity
should bring down the admittedly high cost of airfreight.
This is not to say that a rail network would not benefit
Oman. In the words of Hussain Al Nowais, chairman of the
UAE’s Union Railway Company, “Rail is safer, faster, cleaner
and a more economical mode of transportation.” In
particular, Oman’s ports would benefit hugely from the kind
of rapid, high-volume, low-cost transport a good rail
network could provide.
But this long-term competitive advantage in industry will
come with a hefty price tag. Oman’s geography poses
challenges that many of its more rail-oriented GCC
neighbours do not have to face. Unlike sandy Saudi Arabia,
much of Oman – especially its most economically active
regions – is rocky and crossed by rivers, requiring bridges
and tunnels. Part of what made Muscat such a historically
strong city is the fact that it is surrounded by mountains,
which will provide as much trouble to rail engineers as they
once provided to prospective invaders.
Much depends on what value Oman decides to put on the
development of industry as opposed to other popular sectors
like tourism. Tourist traffic, which is often seasonal or
hard to predict, is actually more effectively served by
automobiles and airplanes than fixed-line trains.
At this point, it is a question of when, not if, Oman will
see fit to make a significant investment into rail project
development. The economic benefits, especially to industry,
are undeniable. But in keeping with Oman’s reputation for
cautious development, large-scale investment in rail may be
something to expect in the longer term rather than the
shorter.
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