Credit SoharPort/Free Zone

Oman Rail and Tourism

Plans to construct a 303 km passenger and freight rail line connecting the deep sea port of Sohar and its Free Zone to Abu Dhabi seem to be materialising . Investment involved in the rail project is in the range of $ 3 billion. Sohar Port is nestled along the Gulf of Oman and the rail freight and passenger grid appears to be a clever ploy to access the freight and cargo potential of India and Pakistan . The Omani and UAE ports are potential rivals to ports in India and Pakistan  which may suffer a commercial backlash when the rail network is functional .The rail line  is capable of hosting passengers trains travelling at a maximum speed of 200 km/h whereas freight trains can travel upto 120 km/h. The speed is not as exciting as that of the Bullet trains of Shanghai but seems to serve the purpose.

 

Credit ExpatWoman.com

 

Disregarding Cultural Sensitivities and Gaol

Tourists from the West must adhere to the cultural and dress sensitivities of most Middle Eastern tourism hubs to avoid disapproving and sideways glances or worse being accosted by the authorities and accused of wearing skimpy attire.On an average , it takes around 3 hours to travel by road from Sohar to Abu Dhabi in UAE and by train the travel time will be one hour and forty minutes.  Seems a clever ruse for diverting tourist traffic from India and Pakistan to UAE  though Oman.