September 17th saw the official launch of a feasibility study for an international rail network linking six countries in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has appointed a consortium consisting of SYSTRA, CANARAIL (Canada) and SCE-Khatib & Alami (Saudi Arabia) to carry out the study, which is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. The consortium will study potential routes, and look into the various options for financing the project and how the costs will be divided between the countries involved.

The study relates to the Kuwait-Muscat line and will be based on plans drawn up in 2004 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) for a 16-line network covering 19000 kilometres to serve the whole region.