Middle East Rail and Public Transport Projects

– 2012 –

Brooks Market Intelligence Reports, part of Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd www.brooksreports.com

Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd © 2012. All rights reserved.

No guarantee can be given as to the correctness and/or completeness of the information provided in this document. Users are recommended to verify the reliability of the statements made before making any decisions based on them.

Contents

Introduction 4

Bahrain Urban rail/national rail transport network 5

Iraq metro 7 Baghdad elevated metro 8 Kurdistan tram systems 9 Karbala monorail 10 Najaf monorail 11

Israel Jerusalem system 12 National rail network expansion 13 Tel Aviv light metro 15

Jordan National rail network 16 -Zarqa light rail system 18 Amman 19

Kuwait Metropolitan Rapid Transit System (KMRT) 20 Kuwait National Rail Road Network (KNRR) 21

Oman National rail network 22

Qatar Main line railways 24 Urban railways 26

Saudi Arabia Background 27 Haramain High-Speed Railway 28 North-South Railway 30 Saudi Landbridge 32 Future rail expansion projects 33 : King Abdulaziz International Airport 34 peoplemover 35

Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd © 2012 2 (continued )

Madinah public transport system 36 Makkah Metro 37 metro 39 Riyadh King Abdullah Financial District monorail 40 Riyadh university monorail 41

Syria National railways expansion 42 metro 43

United Arab 44

United Arab Emirates: Surface Transport Master Plan 2030 (STMP 2030) 46

United Arab Emirates: 48 monorail 50 Downtown peoplemover 51 Monorail 52 Al Sofouh Tram 53

Yemen National rail network 54

Gulf Cooperation Council Regional rail network 55

Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd © 2012 3 Introduction

This latest review on rail and urban transport developments in the from Brooks Market Intelligence Reports confirms that despite an economic slowdown and in a few instances political uncertainty, the Middle East remains a vibrant new rail market, with many projects showing great progress.

The most significant main line rail construction activity has been in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Other Gulf states are also moving to build railway systems which as well as meeting national needs, will contribute to the regional network being coordinated by the .

In addition, there is progress with ambitious urban schemes such as those planned by Qatar ahead of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Major investments are being made in Israel, with new lines under construction or planned, extensive electrification in the pipeline and progress in implementing urban rail systems. And there are signs of movement in as it rebuilds after years of conflict, with a number of urban projects mooted.

This report provides a concise overview of current principal main line, metro, rapid trans