DOHA: The upcoming high-tech rail network being developed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region will not only bring the member states more closer but will also facilitate cross-border, regional and international business and trade in a big way, said a statement issued by Qatar Rail here the other day.
Qatar Rail, the host of the 1st International Conference on Railway Interoperability, Standardisation and Harmonisation in the Middle East, concluded the two-day event successfully. The aim of the event was to assist in developing a coherent, integrated, and competitive rail transport system to serve the region’s economy and society.
Organised by UIC, the International Union of Railways; UIC Middle East; OTIF, the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail; CIT, the International Rail Transport Committee; and hosted by Qatar Rail, the conference provided a unique opportunity to discuss the latest developments in optimising international cross-border rail transport.
Commenting on the event’s success, Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Subaie, Managing Director of Qatar Rail, said that as expected, UIC RAME event gave all participating companies from the Middle East region the chance to bring together their views and plans on the objective of the event.
“At Qatar Rail, we envisage the development of a Long Distance Rail that will form part of the planned GCC cross-border railway network that will enable a higher level of cooperation between the member states. We were happy to exchange expertise and thoughts with stakeholders and push further towards Qatar’s national transportation objectives,” said Al Subaie.
The varied participation of industry leaders from the railway and transportation sector was indicative of the two-day event’s importance. The conference (held from March 30 to 31) focused on three major topics that discussed “legal interoperability framework”, “railway harmonisation and standardisation”, “railway safety”, “harmonization of cross-border transport” and “railway suppliers’ perspectives on interoperability”.
Participating companies mainly included OTIF, UIC, CIT, SRO – Saudi Arabia, Etihad Rail – UAE, Oman Rail, Moroccan State Railways, UIC – Africa, TCDD – Turkey, RAI – Iran, Sina Rail Pars Transport – Iran, AFRA – Afghanistan, Huawei Technologies – China, Alstom Transport – France, and Qatar Rail.
More than 100 industry leaders attended the two-day event, with a common aim to tackle all interoperability issues that are shaping the technical, operational, legal and regulatory fields in the railway sector in our region.
Abdulrahman Ali Al Malik, Long Distance Project Director at Qatar Rail, added: “Constructing a high-tech rail network that connects the GCC region enables a closer degree of cooperation between the member states, in line with the GCC region’s vision. This will also facilitate cross-border trade for local, regional and international businesses in the near future. In this light, the Qatar Rail Development Program (QRDP) is currently developing a long distance passenger and freight rail network to connect major cities and industries in Qatar, and to play its role in linking the six GCC countries.”
The last day of the event began with a discussion by Ramiz Al Assar, Resident Adviser at World Bank and Secretariat General of the GCC, Saudi Arabia, on the harmonisation and interoperability of the GCC Railway, and the progress made in this regard.
