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On Track The GCC Rail Opportunity The ambitious GCC railway project is a proposed regional link to connect the (GCC)-member states and boost transport services across the region. Experts in rail transport discuss the rail infrastructure needs of the GCC countries in a report compiled by Sindhu Nair.

58 > today > november 2013 he concept of public transport is has the greatest potential new to the Gulf countries. Public with projects worth QR182 billion (USD50 transport used to be confined to billion) due to be completed by 2025, ac- taxis and in 2005, when Mowas- cording to MEED Projects. Rail, metro, alat introduced buses to Qatar tram and BRT projects in Qatar worth for the first time, a mode of travel more than QR109.2 billion ($30 billion) are Tthat has now become popular for labourers scheduled to be finished by 2020, ahead of and low-income groups, it was seen as a big the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The third big- step in public transport development. But gest rail market is the UAE, where QR98.28 that was long before Qatar became a hive of billion ($27 billion) worth of projects is due activity with the 2022 World Cup projects for completion by 2030. work that has now begun in earnest. But the most interesting of all the devel- Public transport is the next stage of in- opments is the talks and even some action, frastructure development that all of the about having an integrated rail network be- Gulf countries are actively investing in. tween the GCC countries. But one of the biggest challenges facing the Talking about this project, Marco governments of the GCC countries will be Stegher, Project Manager of the Arab Rail- to persuade their respective citizens to use way Study, says the ambitious GCC railway the public transport systems. According to project is a regional link proposed to con- one expert, that is not an unachievable task nect the Gulf Cooperation Council member given the success model of the first metro states, to boost transport services across system in the region, the . the region. It is splanned that the route of Qatar is set to spend up to QR550 billion the GCC train project should start from Ku- (USD150 billion) on infrastructure projects wait, amd run via in the Kingdom over the next nine years as it starts prepar- of Saudi Arabia, to the Kingdom of ing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, according over the proposed causeway to be built par- to HE Yousef Hussein Kamal, the former allel to the King Fahd Causeway, and from Minister of Economy and Finance. Dammam to Qatar through Salwa. The GCC A whopping 40% of its budget between train would also link Qatar with Bahrain via now and 2016 is allocated to infrastruc- the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway to be estab- "Qatar is ideally ture projects, including QR40.04 billion lished between them, and run from Saudi ($11 billion) on a new international airport, Arabia through Al Batha to the United Arab located to benefit QR20.02 billion ($5.5 billion) on a deep-wa- Emirates ( – Al Ain) and then end from increased trade ter seaport and QR3.64 billion ($1 billion) up in across to . The across the region. A rail for a transport corridor in the capital. It has total project length is approximately 2,116 also allocated QR182 billion ($50 billion) km, and the length of the track inside the network will only serve to upgrade its transport infrastructure, in- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia totals 663 km. to make it easier to do cluding new rail and metro systems. Bids for implementation of the GCC rail business across borders Figures provided by MEED Projects project, have already been invited, the de- show that this phenomenon is not seen sign stage of the project has already com- and help to strengthen only in Qatar – there are 108 separate rail- menced, and it is expected to be completed the country's economic way, metro, monorail, tram and bus rapid in 2017. transit projects under bid, under design or “The GCC network would support eco- growth." under study in 14 MENA countries. More nomic diversification, encourage invest- Dr Amjad Bangash than 50 of them with a combined value of ment, boost trade and create jobs,” says Managing Director, almost QR509.6 billion ($140 billion), are Stegher. Rail Bechtel Ltd (UK) in the GCC. Opportunities in the Middle East and

Value of MENA rail projects by Value of MENA rail projects by status (in $ million) completion date (in $ million) 120,000 100,000 100,000 80,000 80,000 60,000 60,000 40,000 40,000 20,000 20,000

Under bid Design Study 2015 2016 2017 2018 20192020 2021 202220252030

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Value of MENA rail projects to 2030 by country ($ million)

60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000

UAE Iraq Iran yria Qatar Egypt Oman emen S Algeria Bahrain Jordan Y Morocco Lebanon Saudi Arabia

North Africa (MENA) region's QR819 Dr Amjad Bangash, Managing Director, billion ($225 billion) rail, metro, tram and Rail atBechtel Ltd (UK), strongly defends bus rapid transit (BRT) capital investment the project saying that with one of the programme to 2030 were highlighted at the fastest growing economies, Qatar is home MEED MENA Rail and Metro Summit held to one of the world’s largest gas reserves in Abu Dhabi on October 29. The partici- and that transportation, construction and pants discussed with Qatar Today the huge property will also boosts its economy. opportunity this presents. Yiwen Wang, Chief Technology Officer, MEA Government and Enterprise Business A gap to fill of ZTE, a leading provider of telecommuni- Stegher gives us an outline of the work cations equipment and network solutions, planned in Qatar. “The proposed Qatar agrees with Bangash’s views, reiterating, National Railway Network is an integral “The pace at which is growing would part of the future integrated multi-modal necessitate a rail network. As it is, more "Operating practices, transportation currently being considered, than 200 new cars rush to roads every day, which also includes a modern metro system and the expat worker population is expect- customs and in Doha and light rail transit schemes in ed to double in the next five to six years. immigration policies other strategic city locations,” he says. With the current limited road transport and other divisive These national and international trans- capability, a rail network is a must infra- portation systems together form the Qa- structure to support the country’s further issues that could slow tar Railways Development Programme development.” the development of a (QRDP) and will provide a solid backbone to “A regional rail network can support di- encourage economic development and sup- versification and growth in non-oil based GCC network should port the foreseen population growth. This sectors,” says Bangash,, “Helping to make be also tackled from a will reinforce the role of Qatar in the region manufacturing and mining more cost supranational level." as an international business hub, also con- competitive, and supporting the container sidering other ongoing developments such trade in major ports. Qatar is ideally locat- as the West Bay area, Lusail, Education ed to benefit from increased trade across Marco Stegher Project Manager, City, the new Port , and the New the region. A rail network will only serve to Arab Railway Study Doha International Airport. The integrated make it easier to do business across borders railway network aims to fulfil short-, medi- and help to further strengthen the coun- um-and long-term demands related to pas- tryís economic growth". senger and freight and Siemens Infrastructure and Cities, Mid- from other GCC member states. dle East, CEO, Joerg Scheifler feels that to “Major sections will be ready for the 2022 realise Qatar’s National Vision 2030 and FIFA World Cup, allowing mobility from build a sustainable environment for the fu- New Doha International Airport (NDIA) ture, creating an environmentally-friend- and neighbouring countries to Doha,” says ly and efficient public transport system is Stegher, stressing on the importance of crucial. the public transport system as a means of transport from and to neighbouring Arab The GCC challenge countries during the World Cup. There will be challenges building a rail net- Whether Qatar has the need for such in- work between the GCC countries. A GCC frastructure upgrades given its compara- network will involve more challenges than tively small population, of which a majority individual countries' rail works as the proj- are migrant workers, is another question ect will involve a lot more of interaction and that analysts have asked. cooperation among the GCC states while

60 > qatar today > november 2013 THE Dubai success model

eflecting on the Dubai Metro model, “The Dubai metro was the first metro Stegher feels that “they have done it system to be built in a Gulf country and the right way”. The Road and Trans- there were many risks on the success of Rport Authority of Dubai (RTA) is the project and mostly the challenges aiming to reduce the use of private vehi- of persuading the Emirate’s car drivers cles and increase the use of public trans- to take public transport were one big port to 30% by 2020. challenge. With the usage on the public The Dubai Metro has been open since transport growing by huge rates in three 2009 and statistics from RTA report that years, it suggests that changing commut- Red and passengers are grow- ersí mentality may be hard, but possible. ing year after year. The two lines carried Many technical factors affect the suc- 109,491 million passengers in 2012 com- cess of a metro system: a proper align- pared to 69 million passengers in 2011. ment, the position of the stations, the “There are now plans to expand Dubai operational plan, the trip frequency, the Metro by a further 421 km. New met- comfort of vehicles, information system, ro lines – Blue, Gold and Purple – and a ticket policy, etc. The proximity of met- Jumeirah tram route will be running by ro stations to key retail developments in 2030,” shares Stegher. Dubai is also a major factor behind the “The Red and Green lines are also to be increase in traffic.” he says. expanded,” he adds.

"With the current limited road transport capability, a rail network is a must infrastructure to support the Qatar's further development."

Yiwen Wang Chief Technology Officer, MEA Government and Enterprise Business, ZTE

designing and even more during execution. a GCC Railway Authority is recommended A major challenge for Gulf countries, ac- to encourage the use of uniform technical cording to Scheifler, “is creating awareness standards and to control their adoption of among the public about using public trans- them,” he says, “Operating practices, cus- portation systems after decades of relying toms and immigration policies and other on private vehicles for commuting”. divisive issues that could slow the devel- According to Stegher, “interoperabil- opment of a GCC network should be also ity of the network is a must. From the in- tackled from a supranational level.” frastructural point of view, since with the Bangash feels that one of the main chal- exception of Saudi Arabia the countries lenges for the development of a GCC rail didn’t possess existing railways, it would network is the issue of interoperability. make it easier to overcome technical con- “Harmonising technical standards straints to the creation of an interoperable and operating rules between neighbour- network. ing countries is naturally critical to the “The creation and fast empowerment of success of any regional network,” says

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Value of MENA rail projects by mode (in $ million)

100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000

BRT Mono Tram

Metro/light High speed

Passenger/freight

Latest Technology

RTMS/ETCS is the acronym of the “language” to manage train traffic. The European Rail Traffic Management ERTMS/ETCS system assists the driver System and its European Train Con- by providing all the required information Etrol System designed to achieve the and checking each step the driver takes to train interoperability and safety on the ensure high safety levels since the emer- “Old Continent” railway network, and gency brakes operates if the speed exceed applying the latest technologies and re- the maximum limits. lated functionalities. “In the course of our Arab Railway Net- The ERTMS/ETCS is a signalling stan- work Study, we have assumed this tech- dard for trains travelling through an in- nology as a standard for the entire Arab ternational and heterogeneous network Core Railway Network,” says Stegher. and observes a “common language” that “In that context, considering the dif- connects the track side system (ground) ferent characteristics associated with and the train side system (on board). The Level 1 and 2 of ETRMS/ETS systems, UNISIG standard defines the procedures even knowing that some countries have for the ground and the on-board signal- planned, for some specific lines the di- ling information exchange, identifying rect implementation of Level 2 (such as the transmission techniques and the Morocco, Algeria, GCC Countries), we message format. suggested the adoption of ERTMS Level The ERTMS/ETCS equalises the in- 1 as a unified signalling standard for the compatibilities among the national train future Arab rail network.” rules, since each country has an own rail

Bangash, “There is still much to be done but “our experience working in the devel- to harmonise standards, but governments opment of the Chinese high-speed railway have recognised the need to work together tells us these issues can be a big challenge, to address the issue and are making good but can be surmountable”. progress towards achieving a solution.” He adds, “From the information we have Scheifler agrees that challenges are part gathered, besides Qatar, all of the GCC of any infrastructure project. “The GCC countries are pushing ahead with their network challenges include choosing the domestic rail plans. The UAE's right technology that can fit with the re- has already built up their national railway gion’s climatic conditions such as high for Phase I and is ready to kick off the proj- temperatures and sand storms during the ect's phase II this year, both of which will summer, while also providing an efficient be critical components of the planned GCC solution that can help reduce energy usage network. Qatar’s own railway and metro and reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” he development plan is an important part of says. this regional network and can make the to- Wang agrees that construction of the pology of the from a single line rail network will be mired with difficulties to a real network.”

62 > qatar today > november 2013