National railway project a boon for Oman
Being the Sultanate’s largest, multi-billion-rial infrastructural development project that will see 2,244-kilometres of railway-line spread along the length and breadth of the country and eventually link on to the proposed GCC states’ rail network, the Oman Rail Project has immense significance as it will allow for an important new mode of transportation system to serve the country. Its link-up with all of Oman’s major ports will facilitate and establish an inter-connectedtransportation hub that will simplify freight movement, cut transportation costs, provide commuters with an efficient mode of daily transportation and, to the relief of many, will ease traffic congestion being experienced in Muscat and other major cities here.
The use of costly land transportation by trucks and lorries will become minimised and together with passenger transportation,where daily commuters will have the option of travelling by rail instead of road, it will greatly ease the level of travel congestion being experienced on the country’s main highways and byways. This timely project will require an estimated 12,000-kilometres of rail with a rail production plant that is seen as viable option for the production of high quality rails. A further estimated 10.2-million concrete sleepers for the network can potentially see as many as five production plants being established at key locations along the alignment, with output from a medium-sized plant being about 300,000 sleepers per year.
In other countries that already have well established rail networks, they have seen major cities and townships mushroom alongside the railway. Another important contributory factor for Oman Rail is the many employment and entrepreneurialopportunities it offers; potentially having the capacity of creating thousands of jobs and many business spinoffs from and besides the main contractors and sub-contractors of the project. This is a very interesting expected outcome that will not only greatly assist in the Sultanate’s progressive development drive, but will also significantly contribute and further establish its modernisation goals. In the long-run, it will positively impact on the country’s economy with a considerable increase to Oman’s GDP and on society as a whole. The greater mobility of the individual within the country and the region that is afforded by the project, will bring about new socio-demographic considerations and opportunities as well.
How exactly the once fully completed project will affect individuals, the society of Oman and, concurrently, of the Arabian Gulf — once the intra-wide GCC rail network is up-and-running — is very much open to conjecture. It will, however, definitely prove to be a positive experience. In relation to this, in his recent speech at the Railway Project Forum, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, noted: “I have seen countries in the region mark major development in the diversity and integration of their transport systems including roads, sea and airports, but what was most prominently absent is railways. “This image is starting to change as it becomes the region with the fastest growing railway market sector in the world, in terms of the current indicators that show there are plans to create more than 40,000-km of railways in the foreseeable future and so much more in long-term development plans. These plans represent investments estimated at more than RO 100 billion.
“The project has commenced in earnest this year and it requires great effort and commitment in order to ensure the achievement of set targets. He defined these as: 1. The vision of the project; 2. Implementation of the infrastructure, where the goal is to attain first contract targets by the 4th quarter of 2014 and bring to operation the first railway line in 2018; 3. Strategic training for maintenance of trains; 4. Development of human resources to the highest professional levels; and 5. Economic and commercial concerns together with the involvement of the private sector and the community at large. The Observer spoke to the Oman Rail Project Manager, Abdulraman bin Salim al Hatmy about the project. He said, “It is a major undertaking which will transform the country’s economic landscape; we have high expectations. The project is a long-term one with various components and stages, each with its own timeframe and we’re planning for the long-run.”
While Mohammed bin Hashil al Riyami, Facilities Management Contract Holder, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), who is also the International Team Leader for the Oman Society of Engineers (OSE), said, “For PDO, which covers a huge area, it will benefit us in the long-run. For OSE I’m looking at how we can maximise the benefit of the rail network in Oman through its building upon the capacity and capability of the nation. “It will help in the commuting of employees, materials and will aid in reducing the prevalence of road accidents.”
Oman Rail components include
1380368092166385200■ A 2,244-km national railway network with segments from Sohar to UAE border in Al Ain; Al Sunainah to Sinaw; Sinaw to Duqm; Duqm to Salalah; Sohar to Muscat; Al Misfah to Sinaw; Sinaw to Ibra; Thamrait to Al Mazyouna and Sohar to Oman’s border at Khatmat Milahah.
■ 35-km of tunnels, 45-km of viaducts, 39-km of rail bridges and 48-km of wadi bridges, 245 flyovers and underpasses, 98 pedestrian crossings and 210 animal crossings, besides other required structures to be built en route
■ Ten intermediate stations, six large stations, eight marshalling yards, nine intermodal yards, five rolling stock service facilities, three heavy-duty maintenance workshops, six central maintenance workshops, one main operational control centre and six operational control centres
■ 40 freight locomotives, 30 shunting locomotives, 5 recovery locomotives, 30 diesel multiple units (DMU) for passengers, 15 diesel locomotives for passenger trains, 80 passenger coaches, and 500 various freight wagons.
Saturday 28th, September 2013 / 23:08 Written by Oman Observer.
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