Qatar, Bahrain eye maglev rail link

The leaders of Bahrain and Qatar have expressed interest in taking part in a German-led project to connect Gulf states by high-speed rail, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said.

The maglev technology suspends trains above the tracks

Speaking in Manama on Wednesday after meeting Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Schroeder said he had invited members of the Gulf Cooperation Council to Germany to discuss details of the proposed 2000km-long railway, stretching from Kuwait in the north to Oman in the south.

 

“Bahrain is very interested in the project,” Information Minister Muhammed Abd al-Ghaffar announced after discussions with Schroeder.

 

Other GCC nations include Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

 

The Germans have already sold their magnetic levitation, or maglev, technology to China to build a high-speed rail link between Shanghai and Hangzhou, and between Shanghai‘s Pudong International Airport and the city’s eastern suburbs.

 

That $1.2 billion rail line uses a powerful magnetic field to suspend trains above the tracks. Its top speed is 430km per hour.