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Ninety short answers in nine topics, each with a link to the chapter it comes from. Choose a topic or filter by a word.
A proposal for one continuous rail network that would join all six continents and more than 195 countries into a single body, so that a person could board a train at the southern tip of the Americas and, without a ship or a plane, travel on to Australia or southern Africa.
Kianosh Rahmani is the originator of the Global Rail Network idea, set out in this book. He describes it as a thought that stayed with him for years, after decades of travel and work among many peoples.
Today it is a proposal and an invitation, not a project under construction. The book says plainly that it is not an engineering feasibility study; the figures are first estimates that engineers must check.
Rail sits at the point of balance: faster than a ship, far cheaper and cleaner than a plane, able to carry heavy loads, and it reaches the heart of the continents where ships cannot go and planes are not economical.
No. The book is clear that ships remain best for large cheap cargo and planes for speed. The network adds an alternative so the world no longer depends on a few narrow sea passages.
The tyranny of geography: landlocked countries, deprived inland regions, and a world trade system that depends on a few vulnerable straits. Above all, a world in which the place of a person's birth decides their future.
A child born in a remote village should be able to reach a school, a hospital and the wider world. A station a few kilometres away can make that possible.
Because the book sees travel as an ancient human right and a school of wisdom, praised by philosophers and by faiths alike. The question is why that treasure should belong to only a few.
It aims to reduce the causes of conflict: poverty, injustice and the distance between peoples. The book is honest that trade alone does not guarantee peace, but people who know one another are slower to fight.
Can all the roads of the earth be joined to one another? The whole book is an attempt to answer that one question.
About 216,000 km of track by first estimates from the map: three main arteries of about 86,000 km and 33 branch lines of about 130,000 km.
The Pacific Rim line (about 36,555 km), the Atlantic and Indian Arc line (about 30,869 km), and the Africa–Asia Spine line (about 18,946 km). They cross at several points and form one net.
Four main crossings join the continents: the Bering Strait (about 88 km), Gibraltar (about 14 km), Bab al-Mandab (about 30 km) and Hormuz (about 39 km).
So that people on both sides are as close as possible to the line, and because coastal peoples already have the sea. The railway reaches inland regions that had no transport link.
That is the purpose of the 33 branch lines: no country is to be left out. Joining is always voluntary.
Because the lines cross at many points, traffic can take another way. The network is designed as a web, so no single point can stop it.
A Europe–Asia Spine is left open as a possible fourth route. The network's door stays open for routes that member countries propose later.
No. They are a preliminary sketch. Exact routes depend on geology, earthquake risk and environmental study, and will be voted on by the member countries.
No. Where good lines already exist, the network uses them instead of laying a parallel route. The aim is to serve regions that have no access at all.
The Map & Roadmap page shows the network and the five phases of the plan, step by step.
No single technology everywhere. Proven high-speed rail as the backbone, maglev where it suits, tunnels and bridges at crossings, elevated tracks in forests, special infrastructure in frozen regions, and room for future technologies.
Today's high-speed trains run at 300 to 350 km/h; passenger maglev is designed for up to 600 km/h. The final choice is left to the engineers.
The book treats it as a possible future technology; a real commercial route is unlikely before about 2035 to 2040.
The water is fairly shallow (about 50 m), and two small islands in the middle make the work easier. The challenges are severe cold, floating ice and the 88 km length, so a combination of methods is likely.
If the gauge or signalling changes halfway, the train stops. The book calls for one common, future-looking base standard for the whole network, such as the 1,435 mm standard gauge.
Bridges and tunnels are built to absorb ground movement, routes are designed above flood danger, and thousands of sensors watch rail, bridges and tunnels so problems are found before accidents.
Automation is mature today, with protective systems that keep safe distances. The book stresses that these systems help human workers, they do not replace them.
With predictive maintenance: sensors, smart analysis and a 'digital twin' of the network, plus double tracks, service roads and rapid-response teams.
Yes. The book treats cyber security as important as the strength of the bridges, alongside physical security of stations and tunnels.
An assembly of the world's best railway engineers and specialists, after real feasibility studies, approved by the member countries.
Eleven standards the book believes every route on earth should meet, from a hospital every 500 km to one gauge for every track, ending with high standards for everyone.
Along the whole route, the same high standard of care, with bright, well-equipped hospitals for the people who live along the line. It is a first estimate.
Yes: from a clinic with a nurse at the smallest stop to a full hospital at the major hubs, carrying health care to the surrounding region.
Food safety checked the same way on every continent, and good food from every region, with each passenger free to choose what fits their taste, belief or need.
Lifts, ramps and special seating so that the elderly, children, expectant mothers and people with limited mobility travel with equal dignity.
At least 50 million jobs is the first estimate, in building, running and serving the network, and many more around the stations.
Every station can become the nucleus of a new town, with schools, clinics and work, so learning and opportunity reach places that never had them.
Mines and materials that were once too far away become reachable, so the materials for building the future can be shared fairly.
Yes: double tracks, backup routes, intelligent sensors and rapid-response teams, so one fault never stops the whole network.
They are the book's own view, written to be tested, discussed and improved by specialists and member countries.
Several trillion dollars over several decades, by first estimates. The final sum will only be known after engineering studies of each section.
The book compares it with world military spending of about 2.7 trillion dollars in 2024 alone. The problem, it says, is not money but priorities.
The people. Ownership is spread among the people of the world through shares and certificates, with governments representing each nation's share.
Because interest-based debt has caused crises and crushing debts. The proposed model ties money to real assets and real work, and shares profit and risk fairly.
Investment certificates without interest. The holder owns a share of a real asset, such as part of a line or a station, and earns from its income.
Through 'deferred shares' it can pay gradually from the future income of the part of the network built on its own soil, so poverty today does not shut it out.
The book proposes 10% for network development, 5% for a guarantee and emergency fund, 5% for an endowment and aid to low-income countries, and 80% to member countries by share. The Global Rail Consortium (GRC) decides the final split.
Ownership is spread so widely that no person, company or government can control it, and a ceiling can be set on any single actor's share.
No. The principle is fair prices within everyone's reach, helped by the network's many other sources of income.
Clean sources along the route, such as sun and wind, with modern nuclear power for a steady base. The book recalls the 'Megatons to Megawatts' programme that turned warhead uranium into electricity.
An international body, the Global Rail Consortium, owned by the member countries and modelled on projects like the International Space Station, CERN and ITER.
Yes: one country, one vote. A small country has the same voice as a great power in decisions.
Voice is equal but financial return is not: profit is shared according to each country's share. The book admits this is the most delicate point and leaves details to negotiators.
A General Assembly, an Executive Council, a Technical Commission, a Court of Dispute Resolution, and an Independent Audit Office.
Disputes go to vote and to an independent court with rules agreed in advance, instead of force or sanctions.
Yes. Nothing is imposed; the network passes by other routes and its door stays open.
No. A small group of willing countries can begin, and others join as they see the benefit.
Open accounts, an independent audit office, public decisions and the mutual watch of many countries. The book admits that no system is immune, so it makes corruption hard to commit and easy to find.
No. Each nation decides that under its own laws; the Consortium's responsibility ends when the fair share reaches the nation.
The book answers with one country one vote, spread ownership, anti-monopoly rules and transparency, and says the final guard is the vigilance of the nations.
Yes. The aim is one unified ticket, booked in a few taps, for a journey through several countries and even continents.
Multi-modal hubs linked to buses, metros, taxis and bikes, with waiting halls, clinics, food, shops, internet, and architecture that reflects each land.
Yes. Every station and long-distance train has a quiet prayer room with a place for washing, open to travellers of every faith.
Sleeping, dining and working carriages, fewer stops on long-distance trains, and a cabin temperature that changes gently as the landscape outside changes.
Respectful dress, no tobacco, alcohol or narcotics, no violence, no weapons, and the luggage rules, all resting on one principle: mutual respect.
So everyone can travel in clean air beside calm, sober fellow travellers. These things are kept out of the shared space, as in many respected public places.
Passenger service offices help you contact your country's representatives, reach your family, find temporary shelter and continue or return home.
Health centres at main stations can act as screening points during an outbreak, with quarantine plans prepared in advance.
Yes, but on long journeys lasting, safe food is best, since home-cooked food can spoil. Train catering is prepared to hygiene standards.
Because a traveller’s conduct shapes how others see their whole nation. So respectful travellers help people of different countries trust one another.
Rail is among the cleanest ways to move people and goods. The design avoids protected areas, lifts lines on bridges so wildlife can pass, and uses clean energy.
A diesel freight train emits about 20–50 g of CO2 per tonne-km, against 500–1,000 g by air; rail passengers produce about 62 g per km, far less than flying.
To picture a possible future: a world of about ten billion people that is joined together, where no child is trapped by geography.
Much food is lost on the way to the table. Rail can move grain and water across a continent in days and rush aid to drought-hit regions.
The World Bank estimates up to 216 million people may move within their countries by 2050. The network can bring water, work and services to stay, and safe, dignified travel for those who must go.
The network spreads growth to dozens of new and medium towns along the lines, taking pressure off the swollen megacities.
It warns that no shelter or other planet can escape the consequences of an unjust earth. The wise way is to make this one shared home better for everyone.
Yes, and the book says so. But because it is built step by step, each finished section keeps working, and even a partial result leaves trained people, standards and proof that it can be done.
Means of transport usually add to one another rather than replace each other. The track is designed to welcome future technologies.
A living example of justice, dignity, respect between cultures and care for the earth, which other fields such as water, energy and health could learn from.
Yes. Every part and chapter is on the Book page, with a Read and a Listen option for each chapter.
Yes. The whole book can be heard chapter by chapter, about 4 hours 43 minutes in total.
Yes. The Book page has a download of the book as a PDF.
The Documents page offers an Executive Summary, a Concept Paper and a North Polar map for decision-makers, with a ready citation.
Seven parts: why travel, the world as it is, the idea and vision, building and running the network, economics and governance, the culture of travel, and the road ahead.
Yes. The site is in English, Persian, Arabic and Urdu. Choose a language from the language menu at the top of each page.
Forming an independent group of experts to prepare a preliminary feasibility study: engineers, geologists, economists, lawyers, environmental and Islamic-finance specialists.
Speak about the idea, ask your representatives to consider it, and, if you are an expert, weigh and improve it. The book says no great work happens without ordinary people.
The book asks specialists to test it, find its errors and correct them. Write to us through the Contact page.
Use the Contact page or email info@grn.site.
No written answer matches. Ask your question at the top of the page.
Every answer comes from the book. Read it chapter by chapter, or listen on the way.
