Bahrain to Build First Railways by 2030

Kamal Ahmed, Bahrain’s minister of transport confirmed this week that a rail masterplan which includes mainline connections to neighbouring countries Saudi Arabia and Qatar along with plans for metro, light rail and monorail systems will be completed by the end of the year. These would be the first railways built in Bahrain and would be completed by 2030.

2022 Qatar Fifa World Cup

Expecting to cost $4.5 billion (US) and stretching 90km, the double-track railway linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain along with a 40km causeway between Bahrain and Qatar are hoped to be completed and running in time for the 2022 Fifa World Cup which will be hosted by Qatar. Discussions between the countries are still underway and a more definite timeline for the implementation of the plan should be completed by the middle of of next year.

Ahmed said “We are reviewing the alignment of the train network, because the idea is to link Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and we also want to link it to the port and the airport. We need to decide the exact alignments – the most feasible and cost-effective approach. We will finalise this by the end of the year, and then we will work with our brothers in Saudi Arabia to see what is the best procurement method to finance this project. Maybe by the first or second quarter of next year, we’ll have a more solid plan about a timeline for implementation.”

Ahmed went on to say “Meetings are being conducted as usual; there are so many committees, financial and technical, and it is not an easy project. Plans keep changing, and designs, obviously, but it’s going on. It has to be completed before the World Cup.”