Constructing and then operating a high-speed rail link in either Korea or Syria would not be cheap.However, doing this might be cheaper in the long run than continuously financing the status quo in these lands.These track segments could then go on to be parts of a greater high-speed rail network after a peace treaty and warmer relations have been established, thus increasing the return on the initial investment. The Pyongyang-Panmunjeom and Panmunjeom-Seoul links could become part of KTX and that company's Gyeongbu line, which would allow a direct train from Pyongyang to Busan.The Damascus-Al Qunaytirah line could be extended along the southern edge of the Golan Heights to Nazareth, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.
The cost of construction would depend on topography and the values of property that must be purchased, with there being a marked difference in the latter on the North and South Korean sides.Though it is too difficult to estimate operating costs, construction costs can be gauged by looking at estimates of proposed rail networks in other countries.These range from $20 million/km in Vietnam and Brazil to $13.5 million/km in France (estimates calculated in 2007).If we use the $20 million/km to be conservative, and if the segment from Damascus to Al Qunaytirah is roughly 65km, that link would cost $1.3 billion to build.The Pyongyang-Panmunjeom (145 km) and Seoul-Panmunjeom (52 km) links together would cost $4 billion.
