Runaway Train

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Driving factors Notwithstanding recent economic turbulence, it is still important to consider what the driving factors for development are in the GCC and MENA regions. This has never been more relevant, as it is an indicator of whether there is a strategic shift in government thinking and whether governments are still prepared to deliver infrastructure projects that are not driven by the direct profitability of the project itself, but driven by a wider need to serve their people by diversifying sources of GDP (creating a more robust economy that is less reliant on oil and gas revenues) and by creating education and job opportunities for their young and growing populations. The driving factors relevant to the current market trends include the following: • increasing recognition of the need for GCC governments to diversify their economies away from dependence on oil, and rail projects are considered to be an efficient means of boosting trade, tourism and the wider commercial landscape; • populations are growing across the region and are becoming increasingly urbanised, which, in turn, is placing pressure on the road networks of major cities and leading to significant road-traffic congestion (which, ultimately, damages economic activity and social cohesion); • increased employment opportunities, including roles designed for the local population, by creating jobs in the rail industry; • increasing accessibility to remote areas of the MENA region (which will, in turn, increase commercial opportunities, especially for areas that are rich in natural resources but have traditionally been difficult to exploit) and increased growth in industries such as mining, transit and supply services and other heavy industries; • increasing environmental awareness in line with global trends, as rail transport is seen as a more sustainable and a cleaner form of public transport compared with the current reliance on road transport; • improving connections with Europe to the west and Asia to the east, and, among the GCC countries, saving both time and expense and increasing the potential market for trade between GCC member states and the wider world; and • attracting and delivering successful international events that will be experienced by people from every continent of the world, such as the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. All of the above will continue to drive forward the delivery of transport projects in the face of a new financial reality. 4 <strong>Runaway</strong> train | January 2017
<strong>Runaway</strong> train | January 2017 5
Page 1 and 2: Runaway Train MENA RAILWAYS IN THE
Page 3 and 4: Welcome to Runaway Train, Ashurst
Page 5: The main factor behind the current
Page 9 and 10: also imposing spending cuts on the
Page 11 and 12: Country-by-country summary Runaway
Page 13 and 14: Expected total length of GCC railwa
Page 15 and 16: Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi,
Page 17 and 18: Dubai Dubai was among the first of
Page 19 and 20: The RTA is currently understood to
Page 21 and 22: Rail Academy In January 2014, a mem
Page 23 and 24: Al Haditha The Kingdom of Saudi Ara
Page 25 and 26: Saudi Landbridge Project There cont
Page 27 and 28: Makkah Mass Rail Transit Mecca’s
Page 29 and 30: in the wake of the oil crisis. Howe
Page 31 and 32: Lusail Doha Metro - Phase 1 Qatar U
Page 33 and 34: World record construction progress
Page 35 and 36: The structural works for the tunnel
Page 37 and 38: The feasibility study for the natio
Page 39 and 40: 127 km, connects the station of Soh
Page 41 and 42: Connecting to Saudi Arabia and Qata
Page 43 and 44: Egypt’s railway system is operate
Page 45 and 46: CAIRO Metro Imbaba Emad-Eidn Sudan
Page 47 and 48: High-speed railway Egypt’s high-s
Page 49 and 50: Amman airport rail link In 2015, Jo
Page 51 and 52: Mansour to Bejaia (90 km) Siemens a
Page 53 and 54: Services across the system are oper
Page 55 and 56: International line Yacine Ben Jabal
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Ankara to Konya The second high-spe
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Süleymaniye Mosque. In March 2014,
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Beijing Tehran Iran Mashhad China S
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Country-by-country summary Iraq In
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55 www.railwaygazette.com/news/urba
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www.ashurst.com Level 5, Gate Preci
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