More on the Oman Railway plan

Thanks to Alex Adams of Muscat Daily for the latest update on the Sultanates railway plan in today's Business section.

Pertinent facts of the railway line are:

• It will be 1000 KM long with sub-lines branching to feed various towns (eg Nizwa)
• It will be a dual line (one each way)
• Passenger trains will reach speeds of 200 KM/h
• Freight trains will reach speeds of 120 KM/h
• It will be a fully electrified line, allowing for upgrading in the future should it be required
• Expected passengers per day between Muscat and Batinah region to be 3000; between Muscat and Salalah, 1000 people per day.
• Expected freight to be exported to UAE each day around 11mn tonnes, and imported around 2.5mn tonnes.
• The tender for Construction is expected to be floated in Q4 of 2012 or Q1 of 2013, with completion slated for 2017

Additionally, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will be using Diesel trains on their rail networks, while Bahrain and Qatar will be joining Oman on the electrified route. I wonder how border crossings will work - in order to compete with air-travel, the immigration procedures will need to be streamlined. I also guess no direct trains will be available to the UAE - because of the different train technologies, a passenger will have to change trains at the border, a bit of an irritant.

Anyway it's exciting stuff, if you're sad like me and like trains.

le fin.