Arab Mashreq International Railway

The Arab Mashreq International Railway is a proposed railway network in the Mashriq, which is located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa in the eastern part of the Arab world.^[1] The planned network has north–south and east–west axes, and 16 different routes covering 19500 route-km. The plan is ambitious; 60% of the routes have not yet been built, and parts of existing railway infrastructure are weak or have gauge differences;^[2][3] some states may be unable to make large investments in infrastructure. Like the European Trans-European Transport Network,^[4] the Agreement specifies a family of high-priority international routes, rather than setting service details or awarding contracts to operators.

International agreement

The Agreement on International Railways in the Arab Mashreq was adopted on 17 April 2003.^[5][6] It entered into force on 23 May 2005 after it had been ratified by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. As of July 2016, it has been ratified by 12 states: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the State of Palestine, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Routes

• R05: Iraq - Kuwait - Saudi Arabia
• R15: Jordan - Saudi Arabia
• R25: Syria - Jordan - Saudi Arabia - Yemen
• R27: Syria
• R35: Syria - Lebanon
• R45: Egypt
• R10: Iraq - Syria
• R20: Syria
• R30: Syria - Lebanon
• R40: Iraq - Jordan
• R50: Gaza - Egypt
• R60: Egypt
• R70: Egypt
• R80: Saudi Arabia
• R82: Qatar
• R90: Oman - Yemen

Jordan

Jordan joined OTIF in August 2010, and plans to become a hub for international rail transport.^[7] In 2011-2014, Jordan's Ministry of Transport plans to invest €2·6bn in rail infrastructure connected to the Arab Mashreq International Railway Network.^[8]

Technical standards

The railway network will be built to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, and UIC/B loading gauge.^[9]

See also

• Gulf Railway