Oman Daily Observer reported that a JV team of consultants from France and Oman will shortly launch work on a study that will pave the way for the design and implementation of the first ever railway system in the Sultanate.

The brief, but hugely significant, study by Systra Consulting and its local partner National Engineering Office will also lay the groundwork upon which a national rail network will eventually be developed and integrated with the ambitious inter GCC railway project.

The focus of the Systra NEO study is the Batinah region an area with prodigious potential for industrial and economic development. The JV's mandate is to define the broad scope and elements of a rail system that will initially run the length of the Batinah region and eventually extend to other economic hubs and population centers around the Sultanate. The Batinah Rail system is envisaged to run parallel to the equally ambitious Batinah Expressway a new roughly 260 kilometers superhighway that starts from Halban Road near Naseem roundabout in Barka and terminates at Khatmat Malaha near Oman's border with the United Arab Emirates.

A key task before Systra, an international specialist in rail and urban transport planning services is to review the suitability of the proposed track alignment of the Batinah Railway project. The alignment is based on a route study undertaken by NESPAK & Partners. The JV will weigh alternative routes and diversions, particularly in areas where the proposed track alignment intersects with sensitive installations of the Ministry of Defense, existing dam projects of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources and the Special Economic Zone at Sohar.

Further, the consultants will look at a possible route for the future southward extension of the Batinah rail network towards Duqm and Salalah. In identifying the broad outlines of a rail system in the Batinah, the Systra NEO JV will also study passenger traffic projections over a 25 year period and how these passenger volumes will be shared among the three main transportation modes rail, road and air. A similar study will also look at freight traffic either imported or generated locally with the aim of estimating the demand for rail based freight transport.

Based on the traffic forecasts, the JV will propose a 'Conceptual Operation Schedule' setting out the type of rail service catering to passenger traffic, on the one hand and freight traffic on the other. It will spell out the features of the local and long distance passenger trains that will ply along the Batinah, as well as the type of rolling stock necessary, train frequencies, running times and so on. Also as part of the study, the JV will weigh the benefits of adopting the universally prescribed standards of the International Union of Railway in designing the national railway network or alternatively modifying these standards to bring it into harmony with standards already embraced by the GCC railway project.

Determining suitable design speeds for passenger and freight trains will also be a key objective of the Systra study. In recommending suitable design speeds, the experts will take into account the terrain, standard of services, construction costs and harmonization with the GCC railway network. Importantly, the consultants will also weigh the pros and cons of a single track and double track rail system, as well as the merits of initially launching a one track network and subsequently augmenting it with a second track as traffic volumes grow.

Additionally, the team will assess the number and location of stations required along the proposed route. The JV will specify if these stations shall be designed for local passenger train traffic, as well as long distance traffic. The type and typical layout of the stations, considering that the railway line will run alongside the Expressway for the most part will be determined as well. While marshalling yards will initially be located at Barka and Sohar, the JV will also consider the need for another yard close to Oman's border with the UAE. At Sohar, the location of the marshalling yard will be determined in consultation with the Port of Sohar authorities. Also included in the study is the main mode of electrification necessary to power the trains.

(Sourced from Oman Daily Observer)