UAE’s Etihad Rail makes headway on Abu Dhabi network

As major national network projects progress in the new year, the UAE’s Etihad Rail has shared progress on the network’s backbone in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

Now that work on the line is complete, passing through Abu Dhabi’s Al Maha Forest, Etihad Rail offers a snapshot of the nature and wildlife they will see when the line is fully operational

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In a video shared on Twitter, Etihad Rail showed how the tracks cut across the capital’s vast desert landscape and through forests, as well as the view at dusk.

“Check out our track in Al Maha Forest in Abu Dhabi, a beautiful destination to observe rare desert dwellers,” an Etihad Rail spokesperson tweeted on Friday.

It said careful care had been taken of natural habitats and wildlife through the construction of bridges, canals and animal crossings to ensure the safety and protection of native species.

The Etihad Rail project, linking the country’s trade, industry and population, is progressing rapidly.

More than two-thirds of the line has already been built. When completed, it is expected to transport millions of passengers annually between the country’s major cities by 2030.

Last June, Etihad Rail announced that its first passenger railway station will be in Fujairah, which will link 11 regions in the United Arab Emirates.

It will allow passengers to travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai within 50 minutes and from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah within 100 minutes. To date, no start date for passenger service has been made public.

Etihad Rail will connect key regions across the seven emirates via a track of more than 1,200 kilometers to promote social and economic development in the UAE. (supply)

The first phase of Etihad Rail has been fully operational since 2016 and is also expected to provide important transport links outside the UAE.

In September, the UAE and Oman signed a $3 billion deal to link the two GCC countries by passenger rail – linking Abu Dhabi with Sohar to the north of Muscat.

The joint venture will see the two countries come together to create an equally owned company, the Oman-Etihad Railway Company.

The newly formed entity will have total investment rights of US$3 billion to design, develop and operate a railway network linking Sohar Port with the UAE National Railway Network.

The highly anticipated 303 km railway will mainly connect Sohar and Abu Dhabi.

The passenger train aims to reduce travel time from Sohar to Abu Dhabi to 1 hour 40 minutes and from Sohar to Al Ain to 47 minutes, with a top speed of 200 km/h. At the same time, freight trains will run at a speed of 120 km/h.

read more:

UAE’s Etihad Rail connects major freight terminal to network’s mainline

UAE, Oman sign $3 billion deal to link countries via passenger trains