The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is mulling a national railway network plan as a solution to the increasing road congestion in the economically fast-growing Mideast oil-rich country, local newspaper Gulf News reported on Monday.
The 350-kilometer railway network will link the UAE capital Abu Dhabi to the country's east coast and will eventually be connected with the proposed railway network of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to the report.
"We are studying it now. We need to finalize it and present it to the government," the UAE Minister of Government Sector Development Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri was quoted as saying.
"It is one of the strategic plans of the UAE government to create a railway system for both passengers and cargo. It will ease a lot of the trucking congestion," Al Mansouri added.
The UAE government favors private sector participation in developing the transportation sector, according to the minister. " I think in general the transport sector, both road and railway, needs privatization," he said.
However, the minister did not disclose details about when the plan will be ready or what the estimated cost is.
A 69.7-kilometer urban railway system called "Dubai Metro" is under construction in Dubai, the country's second largest emirate.
The metro system is scheduled to partially open by September 2009 and be fully completed by 2012.
Source: Xinhua
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