Etihad Rail to operate passenger service

The environmentally friendly mode of transport  will slash travel times between the emirates 

Etihad Rail, the UAE’s rail project, has announced that it will include passenger train services running across the country.

The network will diversify from transporting heavy goods to transporting millions of passengers between the UAE’s main cities by 2030.

Worth an estimated AED200 billion to the economy, the project will cut the travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai to 50 minutes and passengers will be able to go from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah in 100 minutes.

Commenting on the announcement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai said: “Etihad Rail is the largest project to consolidate the strength of the union for the next 50 years. It will connect 11 key cities and regions across the UAE.”

The project will reduce carbon emissions by 70 to 80% and passenger services will run at about 200 kilometres per hour with stations stretching from Sila near the Saudi Arabian border to Fujairah on the UAE’s east coast.

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Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces added: “The National Railways Programme reflects the true meaning of integration into our national economic system, as we see the largest partnership between government entities at the federal and local levels. It comes to support a national vision to connect the country’s key centres of industry and production, open new trade routes and facilitate population movement, creating the most developed work and life environment in the region.”

Officials did not give a start date for the first passenger services but said that the number of passengers carried by Etihad Rail is expected to reach more than 36.5 million annually by 2030.

For more information, visit www.etihadrail.ae