HomeThe Plan
The Global Rail Network in brief: what it connects, how it is built and paid for, and where it starts. A summary for governments, international organisations and investors.
PDF, 12 pages, version 2.0. Free to share for non-commercial, governmental and academic discussion.
All figures are conceptual estimates. Final figures come only after feasibility studies.
The problem as it stands
There is no continuous rail link between the Americas, Asia–Pacific and Africa, and no shared framework for governing international transport corridors. Inequality in infrastructure keeps concentrating wealth.
of world trade by volume goes by sea, much of it through a handful of narrow and vulnerable chokepoints.
landlocked countries, home to nearly 600 million people, have no coast to trade from.
higher trade costs for those landlocked countries than for coastal ones.
of global exports is all those 32 countries hold between them.
Founding principles
They come before any route, budget or technology, and every later decision is measured against them.
The solution at a glance
About 86,370 km of main line, crossing each other at several points, with 33 branch lines reaching every other country. High-speed rail at 300 to 350 km/h, maglev on suitable ground, and tunnels and bridges at four sea crossings.
Artery 1
Artery 2
Artery 3
Journey times are theoretical. They assume continuous running, without stops, changes of train or border crossings. Countries and cities are named only to help you picture the route. The final routes will follow geological, environmental and economic studies and a vote of the Global Rail Consortium (GRC).
Branch lines
About 129,714 km of branch line connect more than 195 countries to the three arteries. Together with the main lines, the network reaches about 216,084 km.
Technology
No single technology suits every terrain across six continents. Each section gets the technology that best fits its geography, climate, population and cost.
The hyperloop is not a proven technology yet: the best-funded company in the field closed at the end of 2023, and no commercial passenger route is in service. The network is built on tested technology, with infrastructure ready to take the hyperloop if it matures.
Timetable
Each finished section starts earning on its own and helps pay for the next. The project has no single point of failure.
Years 1 to 5
Feasibility study, the founding of the Global Rail Consortium, environmental assessments, treaties, and the structure of Islamic finance.
Years 5 to 15
The first corridors: the easiest to build, the quickest to pay back and the least contested.
Years 15 to 30
The three arteries and the great sea crossings are finished. Branch lines to member countries begin.
Years 30 to 50
Every branch line is finished, and about 216,000 km of network is in service.
Year 50 onwards
Next-generation technology, new branch lines, and wider global cooperation.
Governance and finance
The Global Rail Consortium runs the network on the model of the International Space Station: no country, company or person holds monopoly power. All money moves through Islamic finance: sukuk, musharaka, ijara, istisna'a and waqf.
High-speed rail usually costs $17–40 million per km on level ground. Tunnels, bridges and sea crossings cost far more, and maglev can cost $50–250 million per km. The $1.6 trillion is at the lowest end of that range and will be revised in the feasibility study.
What to expect
A network that runs day and night, in several shifts, changes the places it passes through. It also changes the countries that had no route to the outside world.
Grams of carbon dioxide per tonne-kilometre. Rail replaces part of air and road transport.
The first practical step
Before any signature, any budget or any breaking of ground:
An independent, multi-disciplinary group to prepare a preliminary feasibility study.
Its job is to weigh this plan. It will review the routes, make the cost estimates realistic, test the sea crossings, and decide what stands and what must be rewritten. It needs a few dozen experts and an institution to host them.
Who is needed
If you work in one of these fields and want to take part, write to us.
History will remember those who build it.Kianosh Rahmani, originator of the GRN idea
The full summary, 12 pages, version 2.0 (2026). Free to share for non-commercial, governmental and academic discussion.
