Construction of the GCC railway network linking Qatar and neighboring Saudi Arabia will begin soon, the Saudi transport minister said. Doha News quoted Qatari Transport Minister Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Suleti as saying that sponsorship and tenders for the long-awaited railway are expected to be launched this year.

He was quoted as saying: "All the necessary groundwork for the implementation of this magnificent project has been completed, including detailed engineering design and work plans." The 2,177-kilometer Gulf Railway is a proposed railway system that will connect all parts of Eastern Arabia 6 GCC countries. The project is expected to cost $250 billion, to be shared among the six countries based on the length of the rail network within their territories.

In addition, each country will be responsible for implementing some of its projects, as well as building its own railway lines, branch stations and freight terminals. Therefore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will spend the most on the project because of their size - followed by Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

Qatar Railways is the development agency of the Qatar network, while Etihad Railways in the UAE and Oman Railways in the Sultanate are overseeing parts of their projects. The distribution of the network will connect Qatar to Saudi Arabia, and the railway is used to move cargo and passengers between the two countries within a few hours, facilitating and efficient travel between the two countries.Editor/XingWentao