‘Revised’ national railway to connect Kingdom’s poles

AMMAN — A comprehensive revision for the national railway project is currently under way, an official source told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

Under the first phase, the revised project is envisioned to connect the Kingdom’s southern governorate of Aqaba, some 330km south of Amman, with the northern town of Ramtha bordering Syria, through a route to transfer passengers and goods, the source said.

The second phase of the scheme is planned to connect Ramtha with the Iraqi border in Jordan’s northeast, providing another course for passenger and goods commute, according to the source.

The government has received a “request from the Gulf” that expressed interest in financing the venture, which is foreseen to play a “big role” in stimulating the economy and contributing to easier movement of passengers and products, the source added.

The Cabinet in June instructed the Ministry of Transport to track the progress in studies pertaining to the envisioned national railway project.

The project seeks to connect a number of the Kingdom’s cities and production centres to a railway network that would also provide access to neighbouring countries.

According to the Ministry of Transport’s website, the Kingdom will be developing a modern, reliable freight railway network linking the nation’s key cities (Amman and major industrial cities such as Mafraq and Zarqa), the country’s gateway port (the Port of Aqaba) and the largest phosphate mine (Shidiya Mine).