Etihad Rail updates network plan with additional lines

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE federal rail network, has updated its design to extend the rail project, adding freight lines as well as passenger lines that were not included in earlier versions of the map.

The new Etihad Rail map introduces 'future lines' including extending a freight line from Al Dhaid to Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah and the Hamriyah free zone and port area in Sharjah. It also adds an extension from Fujairah to Khor Fakkan, located on the east coast of the UAE along the Gulf of Oman, according to a media statement.

Passenger lines, which were not a part of earlier renderings, have been introduced in the new map, including a line linking Abu Dhabi’s Musaffah area towards the capital’s airport, and another branching out along the Dubai route towards Meydan.

In February, a company statement said that the Etihad Rail network, when completed, would span more than 1,200 KM across the UAE, linking the seven emirates and connecting to the neighbouring Gulf Arab states. Stage one of the Etihad Rail network, which began operations in 2015, consists of a 264KM line from the gas fields of Shah and Habshan to the sulphur export point of Ruwais. So far, two trains of the network have transported 10 million tonnes of granulated sulphur for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Etihad Rail told the media in in February. Stage two, a 628KM stretch, will connect the railway to Musaffah, Khalifa Port and Jebel Ali port and also extend to the borders of Saudi Arabia and Oman. The third stage will extend the network a further 279KM, from Dubai to the northern UAE emirates of Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah.