Jasem Al Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), affirmed that the United Arab Emirates has fulfilled all its commitments related to the GCC Railway project and is now ready to connect with its GCC neighbours.

He praised the UAE's significant role in launching leading national projects within the country and its important contribution to the Gulf Railway project.

In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the Global Rail Transport Infrastructure Exhibition and Conference (GRTIEC), which is taking place in Abu Dhabi and runs until 10th October, Al Budaiwi noted that this strategic GCC project is expected to begin operations in 2030 according to the scheduled plans.

“It aims to transport 6 million passengers at the start of operations, with that number expected to rise to 8 million by 2045. The anticipated volume of goods to be transported upon the project's launch is 201 million tonnes of commercial goods, increasing to 271 million tonnes by 2045,” he added.