A Middle East rail network, linking all major capitals across the region, could soon become a reality as more governments look toward developing railway infrastructure as a means of increasing trade and tourism links, Jeddah-based 'Arab News' reported on Thursday. Plans for a high-speed inter-Gulf railway, linking all six Gulf Cooperation Council states have already been proposed, and a feasibility study of the project is currently being considered by GCC transport ministers. Other states across the Middle East are now seriously examining creating their own rail network, or upgrading and extending existing lines. "Over the last few years, we have seen strong interest from governments across the region about investing in rail infrastructure," said Mourhaf Sabouni, general secretary, Arab Union of Railways. "Some countries are more advanced in their planning than others, but there is a definite movement to develop this form of transportation," he said. "In Europe, there is a long established railway system that connects most of the countries on the continent together. In the Middle East, a Gulf-wide railway could be the beginning of a similar initiative here, that would eventually see all major capitals and cities connected by rail," said Sabouni, who will deliver the keynote speech on the future of an Arab rail network, at the Middle East Rail Projects Conference scheduled for Dec.12-13 in Dubai. --more 1420 Local Time 1120 GMT
