Oman is considering building a 200-kilometre railway linking the industrial town of Sohar with Barka, Economy Minister Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Mekki said on Sunday. It would be the country's first rail link.

"Initially, it is for carrying goods between Sohar and Barka," Mekki told reporters on the sidelines of an investment conference in the capital, Muscat. "Later, we can extend it for passenger transport."

Barka is about 100 kilometres north-west of Muscat. The link could be extended to Duqm on Oman's eastern coast, Mekki said.

Oman and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Construction Company may agree this month on a $20 billion project to build an airport, seaport, refinery and a town, a person with direct close to the plan said last month.

The construction company is a unit of South Korea's Daweoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The GCC is working on a feasibility study with the World Bank to create a $2.5 billion pan-Gulf rail network, London-based Meed reported in November. (Reuters)


http://www.arabianbusiness.com/516419-oman-considering-first-rail-link?ln=en

Not a bad idea I guess. I don't see it feasible to be used for passenger transport (How many ppl would use it?) but it is definitely a great idea for carrying goods.

for Goods...Good idea..
for people I wonder,.,..Who knows!

It will be useful for goods, guess this is the main purpose.

People will still want to have their own car and drive..

brilliant idea but when will it be operational? why not reach Muscat? i wonder if you know how many car travel to MCT each morning from this region. i am sure plp will use and i am one of them provided it is a morden, fast train. In Oman, we beleive in expansion rather than future focus and this is the reason it ends in Barka. if it is for goods, is our sea not enough? and cheap of course. Hahahah

Passenger transport ?!
LOL .. i don't know about that .. but the first one was a good idea ..

People in this country would rather use their own cars .. basically we are living in a country that people like to show-off! :p (no offence)

Besides .. Al hamdillah .. probably more than 80% of the whole population are capable of buying their own car and able to drive ..

These kind of transport maybe useful in other countries where the fuel is expensive .. Fuel isn't expensive in our country

^^

This rail transport is for carrying goods from Barka to Sohar..As you can see, the main reason of the traffic jams is because of these trucks and trailers mostly.

A railroad does not necessarily mean that people here don't have money for cars/fuel, but is a solution for traffic jams which is becoming a major problem in Muscat.

Yes .. I agree that it will help on traffic jam!
I am just saying that people won't really use it for transport ..
It'll just be companies using it for carrying their goods .. That's what i meant