Oman Rail is targeting to start construction on its national rail network in 2018 with part of the network to be operational two years later, Oman Rail chief commercial officer John Lesniewski told Gulf News. The first segment of Oman’s rail network, 207km to Al Ain from the Omani port city of Sohar, was scheduled to be completed by 2018. But a series of setbacks, including the January 2016 announcement by UAE rail company Etihad Rail that it was suspending the tender process for the UAE link to Oman, has put that track on hold.   Oman is moving ahead with the three other segments of the initial network that will connect the country’s minerals, oil and gas sites with southern port cities Duqm and Salalah. The design of the rail network is expected to be completed this year and tenders will be awarded in 2017, Lesniewski said. No decision has been made on which of the three segments construction will start on first, he said. Construction of the rail network is unlikely to include public private partnerships and the government of Oman is yet to allocate funding for the reported USD11 billion project, Lesniewski adds. (Gulf News, Zawya)