UAE rail network moves up a gear

The developer and operator of the UAE national rail network has received its first locomotives and wagons at the ports of Zayed and Al Musaffah

Etihad Rail and Dubai Industrial City will build a large freight terminal with seaport and airport connectivity to serve manufacturing and logistics companies

An ambitious plan to link all of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states by rail has been delayed by several years as the region’s national
governments slash infrastructural expenditure plans, in the light of low oil/gas prices and rising budget deficits

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Rail, which is developing and will operate the rail network in the UAE, neighbouring Oman, has just signed up the supply chain management group CEVA Logistics. The company now has more than 50 Memoranda of Understanding in place, and a platform that it believes will result in significant volumes of cargo being moved, as soon as the system is commissioned.

Etihad Rail, which is developing and will operate the 1,200 km rail system in the UAE, has inked another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), this time with locally based shipping and freight distribution group Transworld Logistics.

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s national railway network, has entered into a joint venture with DB Schenker Rail, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn (DB), to operate and maintain the railway.