Why rail projects are a key part of Gulf sustainable infrastructure plans

These are exciting times for advocates of railways as a reliable, sustainable, and efficient form of transport. The GCC railway project has seen renewed impetus, with all six member states at various levels of progress that could help develop the region’s rail network move toward its plan to lay 2,000km of tracks within their countries.

This is just one of a string of recent successes for rail travel. The AtkinsRéalis-designed Dubai Metro has been a phenomenal success since its launch in 2009 and is set to expand with the launch of the Blue Line project; Doha Metro opened in time for the World Cup, Riyadh Metro will launch this year, and Etihad Rail is set to join the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia across a 1,200km network.

So what are the factors behind rail’s surge in demand here in the Gulf?

Tried and tested solutions

The first point to note is that city planners in the region are exploring the use of futuristic technologies, including maglev and even hyperloop, as an alternative to conventional rail. However, the original principle behind the earliest railway systems was that it was an essentially ‘straightforward’ technology that could be built quickly, cheaply and with as few materials as possible – which is not the case with new technologies.

Those principles still make good sense today. In environmental terms, public transport journeys in Dubai have increased from two percent to 14 percent since the introduction of the Metro, removing countless car journeys from the city’s busy roads. Etihad Rail expects to prevent a further 2.2 million tonnes of carbon being pumped into the atmosphere by switching heavy goods transportation from road to rail.

As a business proposition, the rail industry has strong credentials. Its established product line of trams, metros, and high-speed rail across the world, comes with a ready ecosystem from engineering to project management and operations and maintenance to deliver and run these projects efficiently. Using established technology makes for interoperability between different networks, which is vital as regional networks develop. While we welcome new forms of highspeed transport, the reality is that these, for now, are unlikely to be rolled out as a form of mass transport in the way rail is developing.

In addition, the design simplification at the core of rail travel also makes it easier to progressively innovate. This can be big steps such as electrification of moving to hydrogen fuels in the future.

But there are many other ways to progress with each cycle of development. A lot of work has been done over the past decade around material selection, such as reducing the emissions output of cement production. Studies indicate that modular station designs have been shown to reduce environmental impact and improve energy consumption. We use data analysis to help with decision about where stations should be located to make them as accessible as possible to the greatest number of people with minimal disruption. And we also think about whether new lines can be placed within existing transport corridors rather than creating new routes that require additional land. All these design and construction tweaks add up to big efficiency savings over time.

The bigger picture

The availability and use of data gives us much more information around how people move around their city – which is vital when planning any infrastructure project. It enables us to play around with various scenarios of where public transport fits into all other patterns of movement.
Data also enables to ask questions such as: do we stagger school and work times, or move schools closer to where people live? How do we think about variable rates on road tolls and parking charges? We are also thinking about how rail be maximised for other uses. For example, could a passenger metro system be used to carry freight at nighttime?

We also use a “digital twin” to model on-ground scenarios that enable further optimisations. This is especially relevant for the “first and last mile” challenge, which is particularly important in the Gulf climate. A digital twin can measure whether the costs and emissions impact of, for instance, constructing an extra pedestrian bridge will be offset by the benefit it provides to people in their journey. And it gives us performance indicators to plan the wider transport model, including buses and walking, which helps us to look at how we ease congestion levels at certain times. For example, AtkinsRéalis implemented a digital twin approach when developing Vancouver’s fully-automated Canada Line. By using drones, train-mounted scanners, and remote sensors, critical flaws were identified to create efficiencies in maintenance, and ultimately optimizes passenger flow. Such technologies point the way for leveraging efficiencies with the GCC’s rail network.

This will all help the shift to build more liveable, sustainable cities. Dubai’s 2040 Urban Master Plan, launched last year, calls for the development of a ‘20-minute city’, allowing residents access to 80 percent of their daily needs and destinations on foot or by bicycle. Such a plan requires well-thought public transportation to bring services within reach of where people live and work. Our role is to plan for how rail fits into this bigger picture.

As the region grasps the outcomes of COP28, there are further incentives to innovate further. Two new programmes were agreed upon to accelerate the adoption of “15-minute cities”, along with a call to action to double the share of energy efficient and fossil-free forms of land transport by 2030. A playbook for nature-positive infrastructure development was also created, spotlighting the construction sector’s role in conserving and restoring natural ecosystems.

Given rail is already much cleaner than road transport, aviation and maritime, our task now is to think about how we manufacture in ways that further reduce our environmental impact? And when we think about electrification or the use of hydrogen, how are these power sources produced? Does a railway project extend into becoming a power project? Some of the latest rolling stock can generate power as the trains accelerate and decelerate, while viaducts, which naturally act as wind tunnels, could house energy turbines. And we can also think about how we greenify the rail corridors and use the space for solar panels.

Seen from this perspective, rail transport in all its various forms still has a vital future to play, as we build a future where many incremental improvements aid the sustainable movement of people, goods and services throughout our cities and nations.

This article is authored by Roger Cruickshank, Regional Market Senior Director, Transport, and James Walsh, Senior Manager, Rail - Middle East & Africa at AtkinsRéalis.