Saudi Railway Company and Etihad Rail Form Partnership for GCC Cooperation

With the creation of the GCC Railway network there has to be common standards in order for trains, passengers and cargo to cross the six nations involved in the project. This week, the Saudi Railway Company and Etihad Rail, the two authorities with the most advanced projects within the GCC Network, have announced the formation of a number of joint committees to help standardise protocols on the network.

The partnership was signed in Abu Dhabi on May 10. Then partnership’s intention is to ensure that technology and technical standards are kept the same as the network is built.

As an example, Oman has gone for the latest continuous rail system in its section so high speed and heavy cargo trains can use that section with minimal maintenance issues. Such a protocol across the GCC network will ensure that high speed trains can cross effortlessly from Riyadh to the Yemeni border on completion of the network.

It is anticipated that the network will be complete across all member countries by 2018, though some countries are further advanced in their sections than others.