Beginning from Kuwait City and ending in Muscat, the total cost of the 2,117-km railway is estimated at $15.4 billion, including the cost of two new causeways.
The GCC Rail project, which is set to link the six member countries of the GCC by 2018, is expected to create more than 80,000 direct and indirect jobs, said Abdurrahim Naqi, secretary-general of GCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Naqi said the project would boost the GCC economies and create more job opportunities for Gulf citizens in various sectors.
Beginning from Kuwait City and ending in Muscat, the total cost of the 2,117-km railway is estimated at $15.4 billion, including the cost of two new causeways.
Passenger trains will operate at a speed of 220 km per hour while goods trains will run at 80-120 km per hour.
Naqi did not rule out the possibility of linking the GCC railway with King Salman Causeway that would connect Saudi Arabia with Egypt. “Officials working on the causeway are studying possibility of this linkage,” he said, adding that both projects would accelerate business activities in the region.
In its latest statement, the Saudi Railway Organization said the GCC governments have given top importance to the railway project.