The UAE is considering building a railway network covering major cities in the emirates of the country as part of a GCC-wide rail network currently under study, said officials.

The railway is expected to be more than 700 km long and link Abu Dhabi with Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah in the east and with Ruwais and Ghowaifat in the west.
“We are confident that the Emirates railways can be transformed into a major freight transportation system throughout the region,” said General Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
He sanctioned funds for a comprehensive feasibility study that will examine technical and financial aspects of a possible partnership between the private and public sectors.
The move follows Dubai’s effort to establish the region’s first urban light rail system and comes at a time when the feasibility of a GCC-wide rail network is being studied by governments of the six-nation block that is planning to integrate the economies by 2010.
“This will be done through strengthening the intra-Arab trade and expediting joint Gulf and Arab action via connecting border points with modern means of transportation, thus serving as a major bridge for development and a booster of the region’s economies,” he added.