Etihad Rail achieves milestone

The railway network will link key cities and industrial towns of the country and will form a vital part of the planned GCC railway network across the six GCC nations.

Etihad Rail DB, the joint venture company formed between Etihad Rail and the German DB Schenker, will manage the operation and maintenance of the first stage of the UAE’s national railway network on-site from the OCC located in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. — Supplied photo

Abu Dhabi — Etihad Rail, which is building the UAE’s railway network, has handed over the Operation Control Centre, or OCC, in Mirfa to Etihad Rail DB.

Etihad Rail DB, the joint venture company formed between Etihad Rail and the German DB Schenker, will manage the operation and maintenance of the first stage of the UAE’s national railway network on-site from the OCC located in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.

Being built in three stages, the railway network will link key cities and industrial towns of the country and will form a vital part of the planned GCC railway network across the six GCC nations.

Construction of stage one of the railway network, which will transport more than seven million tons of granulated sulphur annually for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or Adnoc, has been completed and trains are currently running between Habshan and Ruwais in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi on a trial basis. A freight train with 110 wagons will transport 22,000 metric tonnes of sulphur daily between Adnoc facilities located at Shah and Habshan to Ruwais.

Stage two, which is the longest, will span 628km and will connect the railway to Mussafah, an industrial and commercial township outside Abu Dhabi, Khalifa Port on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway near Taweelah and Jebel Ali port, and will see the railway extend to the Saudi and Omani borders.

Preliminary engineering on the section is complete and tendering is in progress, according to the Etihad Rail website.

In the third stage, a 279km railway line will connect Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

Etihad Rail chief executive officer Faris Saif Al Mazrouei led the handover ceremony, which represents a key milestone in the operation of the first stage of the UAE’s national railway network.

“The OCC is at the core of the railway network,” he said on the occasion. “The qualified staff members working in the OCC are responsible for the overall control and command of the system, including all train movements and this move is an important step forward for the project.”

Shadi Malak, acting CEO of Etihad Rail DB, thanked Etihad Rail for handing over the world-class assets.

He said Etihad Rail DB’s team of specialists will utilise international expertise and best practices related to operating in difficult weather conditions to launch the operations of the first freight train in the UAE.

“Knowledge transfer is a key priority in our Emiratisation strategy and we will ensure that the OCC becomes a training center and pave the way for Emiratis to become the UAE’s leading railway professionals,” Malak said.

Etihad Rail has recently signed an operational and maintenance agreement with Adnoc for the transport of sulphur between Habshan and Shah to Ruwais.

Etihad Rail is in advanced commercial and technical negotiations with other prospective partners, including DP World, ESI, Arkan and others.

• haseeb@khaleejtimes.com