#APPROVED :"kuwait National Rail Network and a Metro system"

[Skoulikimou]

02 June 2005
Kuwait (KUNA) - A senior official at the Ministry of Public Works has said that higher authorities are studying a scheme for the construction of a metro train system in Kuwait to overcome the country's traffic jam.Director of the Ministry's Road Designs Abbas Gholom told a symposium that the government is seriously pursuing solutions for traffic jams on roads in Kuwait, be it be highways or suburban roads.Gholom added in the symposium on infrastructure in Kuwait held last night at the Kuwaiti Economic Society that introducing a commuter service is a key solution to the country's worsening traffic conditions.

He added that the metropolitan train service project is a mere blueprint that would start in densely populated areas such as Salmiya, Kuwait city, Shuwaikh and Farwaniya. Gholom pointed out that the metro service will be built close to educational centers so as to allow students to commute back and forth between their homes and schools. Asked about details of the commuter service, he said it is not yet known if it will be overland or underground. Gholom blamed the problem of traffic jams in Kuwait on dwindling government spending on infrastructure projects over the past 20 years mainly due to weakening oil prices and declining revenues.

[Giorgio]

it worked in athens: The worst city for traffic until 2004

[Bahraini Spirit]

I don't see ppl in Kuwait usin it, they love their cars and it seems it's the gulf in general.

[Qatar4Ever]

public transportation will never work for gulf locals, never !!

[Skyline-BRN]

you think Kuwaitis would want to use public transport over their mercedes and bmw's?!?!

[smussuw]

Originally Posted by .::Giorgos::.

it worked in athens: The worst city for traffic until 2004

I guess Dubai took the position for th worst in 2005

[Qatar4Ever]

hehe.. have you been to LA !!

[Bahraini Spirit]

Haha LA, I know exactly what you mean. Cairo was freakin mad when I was there (3 times and never changed, gets worse by the day).

I assume a metro in Bahrain would work, or LRT/MRT, we definately need one especially when the place is fully urbanized (40% at the moment).

[B-Patriot]

40% ?

[Skoulikimou]

Rail Relief
Kuwait, Volume 24
28.06.2005

Whilst the majority of indigenous Kuwaitis remain irrevocably attached to their cars, news of a step forward in feasibility studies on the construction of an urban rail system has been greeted largely positively. An announcement by the Ministry of Public Works this month that it would appoint a consultant to begin the feasibility study promises that Kuwait's congestion problems may yet be resolved - and not merely by the construction of more road infrastructure.

According to Parsons Brinckerhoff International, the international consulting firm responsible for reviewing Kuwait's urban transport system, the idea of the plan is to link densely populated areas of Kuwait City by rail. This would involve both an underground and an elevated system, stretching 32 km in length from the airport to the city and on to Sabah al-Sale. Preliminary estimates place the cost at between KD350m ($1.2bn) and KD600m ($2.05bn) for the initial line. This figure will then significantly increase as the rail network expands.

The final bill will to a large extent depend on the portion of the line that runs underground, given that a subterranean rail tunnel costs twice that of an elevated line. Equally, whilst an underground system allows a more direct route point to point, digging poses its own set of problems. In particular, Kuwait's porous soil, along with the fact that the groundwater table is close to surface level, makes the construction and engineering process that much more complicated, with erosion and leakage potentially affecting the lines.

Digging and building aside, planners are sure to position their stops near residential areas with medium- to low-income levels. Low-income commuters could easily make the switch from buses or other means of transport to rail. On the basis of this calculation and with all the supporting infrastructure in place, Parsons Brinckerhoff estimates an average of 8000 passengers an hour, with 15,000 at rush hour between the main stations in Kuwait City. With the current boom in construction seeing more offices and business activity downtown, these figures will most likely grow even further.

Yet one key question that remains unanswered at this point is who would be responsible for the financing of the undertaking. The government has yet to indicate whether it will finance the project itself, or whether it will be handed over to private investors on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Meanwhile, "However packed the trains are going to be is not going to make the project financially viable," says Glen Thorn, regional manager of Parsons Brinckerhoff International. Fares alone will not be sufficient to cover the capital costs sunk during the construction process - as is the case in all transportation projects of this scale across the globe. Instead, "The configuration of the land resources and property development of the surrounding area" is what brings in financial viability, Thorn argues.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's streets are certainly in need of relief, with roads in Kuwait City packed during peak hours. Whilst Kuwait may have a total population of just 2.7m, a combination of geography and city planning has made urban travel that much more cumbersome. Having the city centre surrounded by sea, along with areas in the surrounding region reserved for environmental conservation, water collection and oil has somewhat limited the options available for expanding Kuwait's road network. This, combined with a population growth rate which, according to official estimates from 2005, is currently around 3.44%, makes the case for a rail network all the more striking.

Still, the vast majority of indigenous Kuwaitis are unlikely to be converted to public transport no matter how comfortable or efficient the service may be. Privacy, hygiene, status and a general pride in cars all factor in here. But for Kuwait's swell of expatriates and middle- to low-income wage earners, a rail system could offer welcome relief to congested streets.

Click To Check

[mohammad]

Im pretty sure the Kuwaitis are going to use it and are also going to use other public transport services such as buses and taxis, once they start imposing taxes on cars

[Qatar4Ever]

Taxes on cars. R u on drugs ?? I seriously doubt it. In order for taxes to be imposed on cars, the Kuwaiti parlimant will have to approve of it. Voters will definitly pressure the politicians against such a move.

[mohammad]

Originally Posted by Qatar4Ever

Taxes on cars. R u on drugs ?? I seriously doubt it. In order for taxes to be imposed on cars, the Kuwaiti parlimant will have to approve of it. Voters will definitly pressure the politicians against such a move.

Taxes on cars.

Yes...

R u on drugs ??

No, are you?



Now, going back to being serious and less immature:

Yes, Kuwait has a high possibility of imposing such laws. Believe it or not. If I asked you last year about womens' rights in Kuwait, would you believe me?

Now lets get our facts straight, Kuwait has a very high death toll linked to car accidents each year. Infact, it also reached top 5 on some occasions. If you dont believe me, then check the Guinness book of records . As a Kuwaiti, I dont need a book to tell me this, since I see accidents almost each and every day .

There are plenty of reasons of why the Parliament should approve such laws. Itll happen sooner or later, as the seriousness is dramatically escalating.

[Qatar4Ever]

Sorry Moh'd but I dont see how the logic you used is convincing enough for Q8 to adapt taxation on cars.

If you had asked me last year about q8 women having the right to vote, yes I would believe and am acctually suprised it didnt happen sooner. This case has nothing to do at all with car taxation.

Also i dont see how q8 having a high death toll due to cars has to do with car taxation. How will the govt taxing you on ur car affect the death rate?

Im assuming that you believe taxation on cars will cause less ppl to drive cars and more to use public transportation, thus less cars on the street will cause less ppl to be killed by cars. This is offcourse assuming that taxation will result in less ppl using cars. Kuwait has a very high GDP/Captia leaving a very weathly population who on average can afford luxury cars. If you put tax on cars, say 5%, ppl will pay that amount and still purchase the car theyd like. To be more effective, 10-15% tax on cars may force ppl to downgrade on the car of their choosing. Still I dont think 10-15% tax on car will push average q8ities to use a bus or train. If tax was pushed to say 50% or somewhere around there then ppl will seriously think about buying a car vs. a train.

But as a q8ity, do you really see the ppl of kuwait accepting an idea of having some sort of high tax in car to force them to use public transportation. I doubt it ! and i doubt q8 parliament would approve of such laws.

As for the death toll, maybe if parliament proposes a 5% tax on cars and the funds to be used to be fight speeding and to install better control on traffic in order to cut down on deaths, then yeah, q8 population would accept the idea. Keep in mind the initial purpose of the tax, as u put it, was for ppl to use public transportation not to cut down on death tolls.

[mohammad]

Well I said what I had to, and whether you tend to believe me or not, the choice is mainly upto you.

Im pretty sure the parliament members know what they are doing. Had they thought that vehicle owners would still drive their cars rather than "dramatically" using the metro system, then I would doubt the government "eying" on this project in the first place.

Secondly, I mentioned this earlier: "the seriousness is dramatically escalating". More and more people are getting killed by car accidents each and every day in the State Of Kuwait. This includes foreigners, locals, and even tourists.

Thirdly, the Kuwaiti people arent as "spoiled" as you may or may not think. They wont waste their wealth by paying extra money for buying/driving cars. Most of them help preserve their incomes for future generations. Others invest into their assets. People dont go around buying things, if these things require extra money. Its a pure human instinct to cut off his/her monthly or yearly spendings by imposing such tax policies. So Im pretty sure your assumptions would not be the general motive for the Kuwaiti public.

Good day,

Mohammad

[Qatar4Ever]

Mohammad its not a matter of beliving you or not, your not telling me a secret. As I said your logic doenst sound reasonable enough for me to push Q8ities to use public transportation rather than their cars ( taxes on cars and to cut down on death tolls) !

I guess we'll agree to disagree and we'll leave it at that oh and welcome to the thread !

[mohammad]

Qatar4Ever: Thanks for the welcoming

[fahed]

Originally Posted by Qatar4Ever

Taxes on cars. R u on drugs ??

There, I laughed

[AlOnSi]

بعد أن أقره مجلس الوزراء في نهاية شهر مايو الماضي
الراشد يسأل وزيري الأشغال والمالية عن مشروع مترو أنفاق الكويت

وجه النائب علي الراشد سؤالين الى وزيري الاشغال العامة والاسكان بدر الحميدي والمالية بدر الحميضي حول مشروع مترو أنفاق الكويت الذي اقره مجلس الوزراء بشكل مبدئي في مايو الماضي، وخطوات تنفيذه من قبل الهيئة العامة للاستثمار ووزارة الاشغال.

وذكر الراشد انه لما كانت الحكومة، استشعارا منها، بأهمية قضية الاختناقات المرورية وتناميها في البلاد خلال السنوات العشر المقبلة وما يليها من تداعيات كبيرة على البلاد، مرت بها دول عديدة في المنطقة والعالم، وتنامي مشكلة التلوث البيئي التي تشير اليه عدة تقارير اكاديمية بسبب النمو المطرد في اعداد المركبات بمختلف انواعها، ولأهمية مواجهة تلك المشكلة بتوفير وسائل مواصلات حديثة ومريحة، ووفقا لتجارب الدول الاخرى التي استطاعت التعامل مع هذه المشكلة عبر قرارات جريئة ومبتكرة، كان آخرها في دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة الشقيقة ( مترو امارة دبي ) الذي ستفتتح اولى مراحله في عام 2008، ونظرا الى إقرار مجلس الوزراء في جلسته المنعقدة في 29 مايو 2005 بالموافقة على تقرير وزارة الاشغال العامة بشأن انشاء مترو انفاق الكويت وتكليف الوزارة المذكورة مع الهيئة العامة للاستثمار لوضع الصيغة التنفيذية له من خلال مؤسسات عالمية لدراسة الجدوى الاقتصادية والمخططات الفنية وسبل تمويله.

وطلب الراشد افادته عن الخطوات التي اتخذتها وزارة الاشغال العامة بالتعاون مع الهيئة العامة للاستثمار لتنفيذ مشروع مترو انفاق الكويت الذي اقره مجلس الوزراء في جلسته بتاريخ 29 مايو 2005، وهل تم اختيار الجهة الفنية المختصة باجراء دراسة الجدوى والمخططات الفنية والهندسية للمشروع المذكور سابقا؟ وان لم يتم ذلك فما الاسباب؟.. وما المدة الزمنية المتوقعة للانتهاء من الاجراءات الفنية والدراسات لايجاد الصيغة التنفيذية لمشروع مترو انفاق الكويت؟ وما هي طرق تمويل المشروع؟

وذكر الراشد انه اشارت بعض الاراء الفنية الى ان مترو «المونوريل» ( القطار المحمول على جسور مكشوفة ) له مساوئ تتعلق بنسب الضوضاء العالية له واحتياجه لمساحات كبيرة وسط العاصمة وفي الضواحي بالاضافة لعدم ملاءمته للظروف المناخية للبلاد، فهل تم استبعاد هذا الخيار من المشروع .. وهل تم الاخذ في الاعتبار في مشروع مترو انفاق الكويت خدمة المناطق السكنية الجديدة ومواقع الخدمات المستحدثة مثل مدينة جابر الاحمد السكنية، المدينة الرياضية ( ستاد جابر الاحمد ).

ـ المدينة الجامعية الجديدة ( الشدادية )، توسعة مطار الكويت الجديدة، منطقة الخدمات الوزارية الجديدة ( الدائري السادس )، مستشفى جنوب السرة، مشروع عريفجان السكني، وخلافه من المواقع الاخرى المستحدثة في البلاد، والمتوقع ان تشهد كثافة سكانية للاقامة وتلقي الخدمات، مع تزويدي بنسخة عن الدراسات والمخططات الاولية التي تمت بشأن المشروع المذكور؟

ووجه الراشد سؤالا بالمضمون نفسه الى وزير المالية استفسر فيه عن الخطوات التي اتخذتها الهيئة العامة للاستثمار بالتعاون مع وزارة الاشغال العامة لتنفيذ مشروع مترو انفاق الكويت الذي احاله مجلس الوزراء اليها في 29 مايو 2005؟، هل تم اختيار الجهة الفنية المختصة بإجراء دراسة الجدوى والمخططات الفنية والهندسية للمشروع المذكور سابقا؟ وان لم يتم ذلك فما الاسباب؟ وما المدة الزمنية المتوقعة للانتهاء من الاجراءات الفنية والدراسات لايجاد الصيغة التنفيذية لمشروع مترو انفاق الكويت؟ وما طرق تمويل المشروع؟

http://www.alqabas.com.kw/news_detai...d=138803&cat=1

[Skoulikimou]

like there is no tomorrow