Oman Rail Network Working to Timetable

Oman’s railway network is on schedule for completion on time. The railway network which will link the Yemen border with the UAE border, and also form an inland freight route that can bypass the Straits of Hormuz, is in advanced design stages, with the first track due to be laid in 2015.

One of the major threats to Oman’s rail system will be interconnectivity with the rest of the GCC. Though segments in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are at advanced stages of construction, other countries are falling behind. Discussions are ongoing about the new causeway linking Saudi and Bahrain, while Kuwait’s section is estimated to be at least a year behind schedule. Each country in the GCC that has signed up to the agreement relies on the others to ensure an effective freight transport network across the region.

The 2244 km GCC Railway Network was agreed in principle in 2008 and will link the entire region by rail, taking high speed passenger trains and heavy freight from the border with Yemen to the border of Iraq from 2019.