Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) is set to host a conference that will discuss the latest developments in optimising international cross-border rail transport.

The inaugural UIC RAME ‘International Conference on Railway Interoperability, Standardization, Harmonization for the Middle East,’ organised by UIC and UIC Middle East, will take place on March 30 and 31.

The high-level conference is being planned in close co-operation with OTIF (Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail) and CIT (International Rail Transport Committee) to provide a unique opportunity to discuss the latest developments in optimising international cross-border rail transport.

More than 100 industry leaders will take part at the event, including VIP guests, UIC experts, and members from the management team at Qatar Rail, as well as decision makers from Siemens.

Qatar Rail will present its vision on cross-border operations discussing its project of Long Distance Rail Network for Passengers and Freight and the Interoperability between the GCC Member States systems.

This Qatar Rail project will connect major centres of population and industries in Qatar and will form part in the planned GCC railway network linking the six countries together.

Abdulla Abdulaziz Al Subaie, managing director of Qatar Rail, said: "The long distance rail network is planned over a length of approximately 510 km and proposed to be developed in distinct phases to meet commitments made to GCC and domestic passenger and freight demands. We hope this distinguished conference hosted by Qatar Rail in coordination with renowned organisers in the railway sector will successfully discuss cross-border operations and help us establish an effective rail network in our region”.

By joining forces, OTIF, CIT and UIC aim to address all determining interoperability issues in the technical, operational, legal and regulatory fields, including the following: transport law, regulations, agreements, contracts aiming to facilitate cross-border operations and international wagon use, transports of dangerous goods, progress in railway standardisation and harmonisation in traffic management, safety management systems, asset management, and operations on international corridors.

This conference is being held in line with a strategic vision and action plan for the development of railways in the Middle East, which was completed under the umbrella of UIC Middle East in close cooperation with all regional member railways and international and regional experts in the transport and railway fields.

The plan aims to develop a coherent, integrated, and competitive rail transport system to serve the Middle East’s economy and society. - TradeArabia News Service