International Railway Journal - October 2008 - (Page 20) Middle East line will have a capacity of 5200 passengers per hour per direction, and will open in September 2009. Alstom will supply 11 Citadis light rail vehicles, which will be equipped with its APS ground power supply system, obviating the need for catenary. Kuwait Metro Line Route Length (km) 1 University - Great Mosque - Messila Beach 23.7 2 Great Mosque - Tunis - Salwa 21 3 Jaser Al Mubarak - Friday Market - Airport 24 4 Qadsiya Stadium - Friday Market - Central Station 22.7 Extensions 1 University - Jahra/Messila Beach - Fahaheel 57.3 2 Salwa - National Stadium 16.4 Stations 19 27 15 16 9 Kuwait In May Kuwait’s Ministry of Finance invited prequalification for consultancy services on the design and supervision of its proposed $US 6.3 billion national rail network, and a $US 4.8 billion metro in Kuwait City. The four-line metro network will eventually stretch to 165km and will carry around 69.1 million passengers per year. Around 35% of the initial phase will be underground, with the remainder running on viaducts. Contracts are expected to be signed in January 2009 and construction of the first phase will begin next year for completion by 2014. The project will be funded as a public-private partnership (PPP), with the government holding 24% of the shares and the contractor taking a 26% stake. The remaining 50% of the shares will be offered to private investors by means of an IPO. By contrast, the national rail network will be completely government-owned. The network will include a 42km airport line, a 30km link to Shuwaikh port, and a 245km north-south line spanning the emirate between the Iraqi and Saudi borders, which will form a Kuwait national railway network Line North-South Line Kuwait City Airport Line Bubiyan Branch Line Shuwaikh Port Line Western Line Length (km) 244.8 42.5 71 30 117 key component of the 2000km Gulf railway. All the planned lines will be double-track and electrified. Abu Dhabi’s first metro line could be operational by 2015, according to Urban Planning Council (UPC) general manager Mr Falah al Ahbabi. The city’s long-term development plan calls for two lines, one running from Saadiyat Island to the Grand Mosque District and Raha Beach, with a second eastwest line linking Al Reem with Al Suwwah and Marina Mall. Consultants Mott MacDonald and Steer Davies Gleave are carrying out a study into the city’s transport requirements and are due to publish their findings by the end of the year. The UPC says construction of the first metro line could begin as soon as next year and open in 2015. The UPC has also included a number of heavy rail projects in its transport strategy for the period to 2030. These Kuwait City Kuwait Metro 1 st phase Proposed extensions National Railway Planned line Great Mosque Jahra Gate Lin e Jaber Al Mubarak Sawaber Lin e2 Lin e3 Qadisiya Stadium Scientific Centre University 4 Line Tunis Marina Mall Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital Lin e1 Friday Market Line 4 to Al Jahra Salwa Line 2 Line 4 Central Station National Stadium 6th Ring Road Messila Beach N Kuwait International Airport IRJ to Fahaheel include a freight line from Abu Dhabi to Jebel Ali in Dubai, and a high-speed line from the airport to Grand Mosque, as the first stage of a high-speed line to Dubai. A request for proposals has recently been issued for the construction of the first railway in Oman. The mixed-traffic line will begin west of Muskat in Birka, where a new container terminal will be built, and will run northwest for 260km along the shore of the Gulf of Oman to the port of Sohar and the UAE border at Khatmat Almilaha. In the longer term, a line south to the Gulf of Masirah is also proposed to provide a connection with a new port at Daqm. In September the Qatari government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with German Rail (DB) with the aim of establishing a rail network in the emirate. A joint project group of around 60 transport experts and planning engineers from DB International will draw up planning options and track layouts covering various options. These will include: a line from the Ras Laffan industrial complex to Doha and the new port at Mesaieed a high-speed line from New Doha International Airport to Doha city centre and Manama in Bahrain via a planned new causeway across the Gulf of Bahrain a freight link from Doha to the Saudi border an underground metro network in Doha, which could ultimately consist of six lines, and peoplemovers in urban developments such as Lusail, West Bay and Education City. The findings from the planning phase will be presented to the government and the Emir of Qatar early next year. Saudi Arabia’s ambitious programme of rail projects reflects the country’s status as the largest economy in the 1 Lin e1 20 Line 1 IRJ October 2008
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.