The GCC General Secretariat in coordination with the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and the competent authorities in the GCC states organized via visual communication a panel discussion on (The impact of the Corona pandemic on the GCC railway and metro sector and similar international experiences) on Thursday, July 9, 2020. A number of specialists and experts from the GCC states and European Union Agency for Railways participated in the panel.

They discussed several issues related to the impact of the Corona pandemic on the rail and metro sector in the GCC and European Union countries and the measures taken to reduce the repercussions of the pandemic on this important sector and to maintain the safety of users upon partial and complete restart of the service. Moreover, the measures taken in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to limit the repercussions of the pandemic on railways, passenger safety and return plans. As well as what the United Arab Emirates has done with its freight railways and what has been done in the State of Qatar about stopping the metro service during the pandemic and plans to return to operation. In addition to the impact of the pandemic on rail transport in Europe and what the European Commission has done to facilitate rail transport and support this important sector, the lessons learned and experiences gained.