A passenger rail link between Manama, Bahrain and Doha, Qatar could be up and running in time for Qatar's hosting of the Fifa World Cup in 2022, it has emerged.

Phase one of Qatar Rail's long distance railway project opened up for pre-qualification applications this week, so that companies wishing to bid for the project can be assessed, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Approximately 156km of track will be laid under the initial phase, including 24 bridges and 58 culverts, pipeline and camel crossings to be completed by 2018.

Meanwhile the Bahrain link, planned as part of the second phase of the rail project with an expected completion date of 2021, would join Doha West International Railway Station with Manama over 160km of track at speeds of up to 270kmph.

This high-speed line could mean that it would take as little as 35 minutes to reach Doha from Bahrain, with plans to double the line so that it can also accommodate goods traffic by 2027.

"Qatar Rail is developing the passenger and freight railway network within Qatar that will be a link in the proposed GCC railway network," said Qatar Rail in a statement.

This network will connect all GCC countries, it said.

"The long distance passenger and freight rail service will be an international passenger railway linking Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, as well as a rail freight network."

A pre-qualification process for the long distance railway project had been started last year for combined "civil works" and systems tenders, but this was terminated and Qatar Rail now is only seeking tenders for "civil works" such as bridges, culverts, tracks, freight yards and passenger stations, it added.

Other parts of Qatar's planned public transport network include an inner-city light rail transit system and freight lines.

By 2030 the planned rail network within Qatar will be approximately 510km in length, and is "proposed to be developed in distinct phases in order to meet commitments made to the GCC and to meet the demand for domestic passenger and freight", Qatar Rail added.

The GDN spoke to Transportation and Telecommunications Minister Kamal Ahmed who said that Bahrain would get involved in the link project once it had "matured".

He explained that a committee under the Finance Ministry was co-ordinating with Qatari authorities. - TradeArabia News Service