Arrail
The Arab Railway Company (Arabic: شركة القطار العربية sharikat al-qiṭār al-‘arabīyah), doing business as Arrail (عريل), is the national rail transport company of the Arab Union. It is a subsidiary of ARCO Group, a jammaj (public company) with 51% of shares owned by the government of the Arab Union and 49% by private investors. ARCO Group owns and maintains all railroad infrastructure in the nation, with the exception of urban rapid transit systems, and fully or partially owns connecting rail infrastructure in 15 neighbouring countries. With over 245,000 full-time personnel, Arrail is one of the largest employers in the nation.
Arrail operates an extensive freight rail transport network, accounting for 40% of domestic freight rail tonnage shipped annually; the remaining 60% is split between two publicly traded transport companies, which lease the use of ARCO-owned infrastructure by their trains. Arrail's extensive international freight rail network serves destinations in all but three countries of continental Africa and Eurasia which, in combination with its domestic network, constitute the world's largest freight rail network by distance covered, track mileage and annual tonnage. Its freight operations are also significantly vertically integrated—for example, a majority of intermodal containers, constituting the largest single part of most freight rail manifests, are shipped via sea and road to/from rail yards by ARCO Sea Lanes and MNSB, respectively (subsidiaries of ARCO Group)—allowing the company to control a large portion of the supply chain beyond its rail network.
Arrail provides passenger rail service via two subsidiary brands: the AUX (All Union Express) network of 13 high-speed rail lines connects all major cities of the Arab Union, and the Arconnexion network of 30 electrified, higher speed regional lines linking virtually all urban centres in the nation.
Virtually all locomotives and other rolling stock for both freight and passenger trains are manufactured by ARTEC, which has major manufacturing plants in the republics of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.