The UAE, Dubai in particular, is moving towards a mass-transit model for its residents. Taxis have been used for decades but only in the last decade have all cabs have been managed by dedicated companies. Previously taxis were managed by private owners and operated by a hired driver. Buses regularly travel in between Emirates and are very cost effective, if a little cramped at times, but rail is the future of public transport in the GCC.
The Dubai Metro began operations on September 9th 2009 and the Red Line (one of two lines) travels primarily along Sheikh Zayed Road, a road at that time which no one wanted to use, but almost everybody had to. The long term vision for Dubai Metro is to link the primary residential and commercial areas of the Emirate, and with the average journey costing less than one British pound, the driverless Metro is a viable option for many.
Dubai also recently launched a tram network which serves the beach road and Dubai Marina, an area popular with expats, and links to the Palm Jumeirah. However this system is a drop in the ocean when we consider the long-planned GCC rail network. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is made up of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, and if on schedule, there will be in 2018 a rail network linking them all for freight and passengers alike.
With the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi, and Qatar all regularly featuring in GDP per capita top-ten lists, the opportunity that this railway will bring is massive.
