Etihad Rail Strengthens Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Collaboration
Etihad Rail and Abu Dhabi authorities have formalised a strategic partnership aimed at aligning rail infrastructure planning with the emirate's broader development goals. The initiative centres on coordinated knowledge exchange around studies, designs, engineering, and strategic development, supporting the integration of Etihad Rail's projects into Abu Dhabi's urban and economic landscape.
The agreement, endorsed by Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Etihad Rail, underscores the importance of a fully integrated transport ecosystem. Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail, confirmed that the collaboration spans infrastructure studies, engineering tender layouts and development planning to ensure rail projects dovetail seamlessly with Abu Dhabi's urban expansion.
ADVERTISEMENT
This forms part of a broader wave of recent MoUs signed by Etihad Rail during the Global Rail 2024 conference. Memorandums were inked with a range of international entities—from transport‑focused to tech innovators—to enrich its projects. These include partnerships with Presight AI for AI-driven operational insights; RITES Ltd and South Korea's KNR/KORAIL on engineering and construction expertise; Austria's WKÖ for planning cooperation; L&T Technology Services for establishing a national mobility innovation centre; as well as technical alliances with IronLev, Nevomo, Hitachi and Singapore's SBS Transit.
One high‑profile partnership saw Etihad Rail team up with COSCO's CSP Abu Dhabi CFS—a key freight terminal operator—under an MoU to bolster multimodal connectivity, enhance logistics flows via rail, and reduce CO₂ emissions, aligning with Abu Dhabi's Net Zero by 2050 target.
The newly reinforced Abu Dhabi alignment focuses on future passenger services and urban sprawl. While Etihad Rail Stage One and Stage Two freight operations stretch more than 900 km across the UAE, passenger services are under preparation. The Abu Dhabi–Dubai high‑speed link, capable of up to 350 km/h journeys in as little as 30 minutes, has moved through tendering and design finalisation phases. Six passenger stations—including Reem, Saadiyat and Yas Islands plus two in Dubai—are to be integrated with metro and bus networks.
Experts highlight the economic uplift from such rail integration. Mohammed Al Shehhi, Chief Projects Officer, noted that the Abu Dhabi–Dubai high‑speed route could add AED 145 billion to GDP over fifty years, enhancing social cohesion and sustainable mobility.
The collaboration also intersects with major sustainability initiatives. The Ghuweifat freight terminal, which handles cargo from the Saudi border, has been solarised in partnership with Masdar and EDF's Emerge JV—a project designed to cover 85 % of its power needs, saving over 8 500 tons of CO₂. Rail freight services aim to cut emissions in road transport by 21 % annually by 2050—roughly 8.2 million tonnes of CO₂ per year.
On the regional integration front, Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and Mubadala launched Hafeet Rail—a 300 km link through Al Ain to the port of Sohar. With a US $3 billion contract signed in April 2024, trains are expected to run at 200 km/h and connect Abu Dhabi to Omani ports in just over 100 minutes.
Etihad Rail's development timeline follows a phased rollout. Stage One became fully operational for freight in January 2016. Stage Two launched freight services in February 2023, completing a 900 km network. Passenger services are yet to be scheduled publicly, though station planning and tendering details are advancing rapidly.
Engineer analysts suggest this partnership framework marks a pivotal shift. By embedding knowledge exchange—covering everything from preliminary studies and engineering specifications to strategic transit modelling—Etihad Rail looks to avoid siloed project delivery. Instead, it positions rail development as core to Abu Dhabi's urban vision, supported by a holistic transport network and sustainable infrastructure policy.
Public sector observers note the involvement of ADQ, through Etihad Rail, aligns with Emirate-level economic strategies such as Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and broader UAE Vision 2021. The rail strategy supports logistics, tourism growth, environmental goals, and inter-emirate connectivity. It is built to support freight services now and evolve into passenger transport, high-speed travel, and international rail links.
An Abu Dhabi infrastructure planner stated: 'This marks a meaningful move from planning rail as a standalone corridor to delivering integrated mobility that ties directly into the emirate's urban, economic and environmental objectives.'
Rail specialists emphasise digital and technical partnerships as vital. Collaborations with AI, mobility-as-a-service, maglev and autonomous rail firms reflect Etihad Rail's push toward a technology-driven, future-ready rail network.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
Etihad Rail will open up new real estate hubs, says expert
The Etihad Rail network will transform the UAE's economic landscape by boosting connectivity, reducing travel times, and driving genuine demand in emerging markets, says a UAE property expert. Etihad Rail benefits will extend far beyond real estate, creating new corridors for living, trade, and investment across the Emirates, said Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties. 'When we saw Sheikh Mohammed riding the Etihad Rail from Dubai to Fujairah, that wasn't just a symbolic moment - that was the announcement of a new real estate era in the UAE,' said Al Msaddi. 'It represented a once-in-a-generation infrastructure shift that will redefine how value is created, captured, and capitalised across the Emirates," he said. 'We're not just talking about transportation. We're talking about speed, interconnectivity, and productivity, and how all of that compresses space and time. And when you compress space and time, you reduce opportunity cost. That's where the real value is unlocked. 'Etihad Rail isn't just a train, it's a full-scale economic reset for the UAE. It will shift demand patterns, eliminate bottlenecks, and open up new corridors for living, trade, and investment.' Added Msaddi: 'Each emirate has always had something unique to offer. But until now, the opportunity cost of movement, whether for people, goods, or capital, has been too high. 'Etihad Rail changes that. When you cut travel time from 2 hours to 50 minutes between cities, you don't just save time, you reshape where people choose to live, work, and invest. 'What used to be too far is suddenly next door. Fujairah is no longer the end of the UAE, it's the Eastern gateway. Al Ain becomes a realistic base for remote professionals who can now be in the capital or the coast in under an hour. This creates a complete re-pricing of land value, not based on geography, but based on accessibility.' Al Msaddi cites the example of Japan's bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka, which transformed cities like Nagoya in just five years. 'Commercial land values rose over 40%, and housing demand surged more than 60%,' he said. 'It wasn't about the train itself, but the economic flow unlocked by faster travel. 'The UAE is applying that same model, but with one major advantage: it's building the world's most advanced, tech-enabled rail system from the ground up, with no legacy constraints.' Pointing to the impact on logistics, B2B supply chains, and the decentralisation of corporate ecosystems, Al Msaddi says the equation most investors overlook is that faster travel means more meetings and more transactions. 'A salesperson based in Sharjah can now close deals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai without losing six hours to traffic,' he says. 'That boosts output. Multiply that across the commercial class, and you start seeing real GDP impact.' Al Msaddi says Etihad Rail's impact will see land prices rise in tier-2 cities like Fujairah, Al Dhaid, and Ruwais, because better connectivity will drive real demand. 'Transit-oriented hubs will rise near stations like Sharjah's University City and Sakamkam in Fujairah, with walkable, mixed-use clusters,' he says. 'Second-home markets will shift too. For families in Dubai, weekend beach units in Fujairah become practical when they're under an hour away. 'Those who still price real estate based on maps instead of travel-time analytics will lose money. Those who study station locations the way they used to study masterplans will build generational wealth,' he said. Copyright 2025 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Broadcast Pro
5 hours ago
- Broadcast Pro
MBC Group CEO obatins premium residency in Saudi Arabia
Mike Sneesby most recently served as CEO of Nine Entertainment (2021–2024) in Australia. Mike Sneesby, CEO of MBC Group, has been awarded premium residency in Saudi Arabia. Announcing the news on X, Sneesby expressed 'immense pride' at receiving the status in a country he has 'come to love' and chosen as his home since relocating from Australia. He said: 'I feel immense pride in obtaining the Premium Residency in this country I have come to love, and have chosen to make my home since moving from Australia. Today, I consider myself an integral part of this beloved nation, where I have the privilege of serving as CEO of the largest media group in the Middle East and North Africa – MBC Group. I deeply cherish this recognition, which I regard as a great and lasting honour.' Sneesby assumed leadership of the Saudi media giant earlier this year, following his tenure as CEO of Nine Entertainment in Australia (2021–2024) in Australia. He also founded Stan (2013–2021), which he built into one of the most successful streaming platforms. Saudi Arabia introduced the premium residency programme in 2019, offering qualified foreign nationals the ability to live in the Kingdom with benefits that include exemption from expat and dependent fees, visa-free international travel, and the right to own property and operate businesses without a local sponsor.
The National
9 hours ago
- The National
Why Etihad Rail's high-speed line between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is on a fast track to success
The recent trip by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on an Etihad Rail service between Dubai and Fujairah represented another step forward for the UAE's public transport infrastructure. Services on the nationwide rail network are set to begin next year, but Etihad Rail has another, potentially more exciting, scheme in the works. The 350kph electric high-speed line between Dubai and Abu Dhabi was announced in January. While no launch date has been revealed, experts believe the project could revolutionise the UAE's economy, its environment and where its people will live. Six stations are to be built in the first phase, including Abu Dhabi's islands, the city airports and Dubai Creek. High-speed rail has had a chequered history in other parts of the world, with some projects suffering delays, cost overruns and cutbacks, but analysts believe the UAE is ideally placed to roll out the technology, with the geography, absence of planning bottlenecks and even climate expected to keep the project on track. Dr Alexander Wray, a transport researcher at Western University in Canada, said the scheme meets the first prerequisite for successful high-speed rail: connecting major population centres. 'From the UAE's perspective, it's an ideal rail-building environment,' he explained. 'It's relatively flat, relatively stable ground, once you get below the sand, and it's in a reliable weather environment. Yes, it's hot, but you're not dealing with the ice and corrosion that you typically would deal with in some of the other climates of the world.' He believes the nature of the development that has already taken place in the area will make it easier to install high-speed rail. 'The Abu Dhabi and Dubai region has been inhabited for millennia, but there's not much urban fabric between the two that you're having to deal with, in comparison to a lot of European cities where there's an historical preservation issue or complex topography,' he said. 'If you look at the motorway corridors in the UAE, they're quite wide to enable future infrastructure investment. They're built after the American interstate model of motorway corridors that provision sufficient space to travel between cities.' Why projects can hit the buffers Some other high-speed rail projects have faced headwinds because the natural or built environment is less conducive to installing a long, straight railway line. The UK's struggles with HS2, originally due to run from London to Manchester and Leeds in the north of England, illustrate the problems. Planning issues and the heavy cost of building tunnels and other features to reduce the environmental impact of the line have led to delays and cost spirals to the extent that the project has been cut back and will now only run between London and Birmingham. Lengthy consultations with affected residents have also caused delays. There are high-speed rail services in fewer than 30 countries, just over half of them in Europe, where the networks in France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among the most notable. Morocco has a high-speed line between Tangier and Casablanca, while Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Uzbekistan are among the Asian nations with high-speed rail. All these networks are dwarfed by China, which has more than 45,000km of high-speed rail, according to the Organisation for Research on China and Asia, and is continuing to expand. Ambitious transport vision Algeria, Egypt, India and Thailand are among the other nations that are developing high-speed rail projects. The Abu Dhabi–Dubai high-speed line, which will cut the journey time between the two cities to just 30 minutes, will not be the first in the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia opened its Haramain High-Speed Railway, which covers 450km between Makkah and Madinah, in 2018. Trains travel at speeds up to 300kph and the journey time is about two-and-a-half hours. Many of the selling points used to market that service will also apply to the Abu Dhabi–Dubai line: a shorter journey time, no heavy traffic, a cool and comfortable experience, high safety standards and reduced carbon emissions compared to driving. While constructing high-speed rail can have a significant carbon footprint, particularly because large amounts of concrete are used, once built it is considered a more environmentally-friendly way of travelling. There will be stations on the electrified Abu Dhabi–Dubai line at Jaddaf, close to Dubai Creek; Al Maktoum Airport in Dubai; Zayed Airport; Saadiyat Island; Yas Island and Reem Island. Boosting connectivity Prof Jon Shaw, a transport researcher at the University of Plymouth in the UK, believes the high-speed service 'will be reliable and won't be subject to traffic congestion'. 'If you can go from a meeting in Dubai to a meeting in Abu Dhabi and can do that in 35 minutes, you have got the two centres effectively functioning as one space,' he said. High-speed rail means, he said, 'more journeys per day and quicker journeys', although he cautioned that additional stops on the line could compromise the speed objective. Having a train that is incredibly fast is not just about getting people from one place to another quickly – it can also be about showcasing a nation's prowess. This explains why, for example, China has a maglev or magnetic levitation train from a Shanghai airport to the city capable of more than 400kph, and why Japan's high-speed network is fabled for its high speeds and reliability. 'It becomes a source of national pride,' Dr Wray added. 'I can see in the UAE this being almost a marketing piece for tourism or for global business and brand recognition. It's those things that drive a lot of the high-speed rail conversation.' Dr Wray said the line could spark further global investment and confidence in the UAE, with more employees able to work in one city and live in the other. 'That tends to breed corporate confidence,' he said. 'If we look at the Japanese example of high-speed rail, it's been a catalyst for new development. In the section north of Tokyo, communities have popped up. They're almost like high-speed rail suburbs.'
