The study omits civil engineering costs, focussing solely on
infrastructure, systems, and rolling stock. SCI Verkehr notes that the
Middle East is diverse in terms of railway development, with wealthy
and poor, central and remote, and active and inactive market players in
close proximity to one another. Despite the rapidly-accelerating
investment in the Gulf region, Iran remains the leading railway market
with annual growth of 3%.

The study suggests that new infrastructure and rolling stock dominate not
only growth but also the overall size of the market, unlike the
situation in most other parts of the world. SCI Verkehr has identified
two waves of investment. The first is now coming to an end but will
still cause the existing market to double in size by the middle of the
decade. The second wave is expected to begin in 2016, coinciding with
the construction of much of the Gulf States Railway, and will generate
substantial investment by 2022, when the networks in Qatar and Bahrain
will be largely complete for the Soccer World Cup.