Saudi Arabia completes 200 km of GCC railway network lines

Some GCC countries partially completed the railway network project, with Saudi Arabia extending nearly 200 kilometers across the Kingdom, Al Eqtisadiah reported, citing the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council. 

Preparations are carried out to finalize the remaining lines, it added.  

The UAE extended the lines to its borders with Saudi Arabia, while the other states are finalizing the prerequisites to launch the project implementation phase.  

In addition, the secretariat indicated that a number of studies related to implementing and operating the project were completed, the passenger as well as commodity traffic and movement estimates were updated, trailing points and switches were determined and a GCC rail authority was founded.  

Work is proceeding on the project, which is estimated to cost $15 billion, while the required national cadres are being trained as member states start to cooperate with the experienced international entities in the field, the report said.