In the current climate it is difficult to avoid concerns about the economics behind the plans. For instance, in the UAE it has been announced that the development of phase 2 of the rail network connecting Abu Dhabi, Dubai and onwards to Oman has been suspended. The knock-on effect as regards Oman is yet to unfold but there may also be a domino effect across the region. However, other projects remain on track and indeed have set records - the Doha metro (now 77% complete in terms of its tunnelling works) had 21 boring machines in operation at one stage.This article examines why rail is critical to the future success of the GCC as its members seek to learn from the experience of other jurisdictions in developing their rail programmes.  

Railways as Public Goods