Oman Rail joins International Union of Railways

MUSCAT, JAN 14

Oman Rail, the national railway company of the Sultanate of Oman, has secured membership of the International Union of Railways (UIC), the world’s premier rail industry body set up over a century ago to promote safe, modern and interoperable rail transport at the global level.

Paris-headquartered UIC said in a statement that Oman Rail’s membership was approved at the recent general assembly meeting of the world body. Also granted membership on the same occasion was Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the national rail network of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The announcement comes on the heels of the participation of Oman Rail and Etihad Rail, among other rail operators in UIC’s 30th Regional Assembly of the Middle East (RAME), which was held in Abu Dhabi in November.

Hosted jointly by the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Etihad Rail, the forum attracted high-level executives of national rail companies from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia Jordan and the UAE. On the occasion, the RAME region’s newest entrants – Oman Rail and Etihad – were given the opportunity to showcase their respective network development strategies.

Just last September, both national rail companies announced a partnership to develop and operate Oman’s first rail network – a 303km line that connects Sohar Port on the Sea of Oman coast with the UAE network in Abu Dhabi.

Oman Rail-Etihad Rail Company – a joint venture established by the two national rail companies – pledged to jointly invest around $3 billion in a modern freight and passenger based rail transportation system linking the two countries. Besides facilitating a speedy and cost-competitive alternative to road and air travel, the new rail-based network also has the potential to unlock opportunities for heightened trade and investment between Oman and the UAE across an array of economic and commercial sectors.

With membership of UIC, Oman Rail stands to benefit from the global institution’s unrivalled expertise in ensuring that the design and development of rail networks is based on international standards. Established in 1922, the world body currently has 207 members operating across five continents.

As the industry’s preeminent authority on rail transportation, UIC plays an important role in the standardization of railway parts, data and terminology. Accordingly, UIC codes have been universally adopted for everything from large containers, swap bodies and conveyance of road vehicles on wagons to standardized cables for data communication, and railway mobile communications.

Also as part of its remit, UIC’s objective are to: Facilitate the sharing of best practices among members (benchmarking), Support members in their efforts to develop new business and new areas of activities, Propose new ways to improve technical and environmental performance, Promote interoperability, create new world standards for railways (including common standards with other transport modes), and Develop centres of competence (High Speed, Safety, Security, e-Business, and so on).

At the 30th RAME gathering in Abu Dhabi, members presented the Middle East region’s Vision 2050 document, which underscores the development of railways as the “best way to contribute to the growth of national economies and societies, regardless of geopolitical tension and economic differences”.

The Vision document also lists a number of initiatives to help sustain the growth of the rail industry in the region. It includes plans for setting up a Middle East freight working group, a Safety Taskforce for the region, a separate taskforce on high temperatures and desert conditions, and the development of technical projects to support the rollout of hydrogen trains as well.