Shadi Malak, the CEO of Etihad Rail, and Josu Imaz, the Chief Executive Officer Rolling Stock of CAF, signed a contract for the supply of push-pull passenger trains.
The contract, covering the design, build, supply, and maintenance of the trains, was signed in the Sakamkam area, where the first passenger train station will be built in the heart of Fujairah city.
The EUR 250 million contract has been signed in the presence of Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Etihad Rail, the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Etihad Rail, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Iñigo de Palacio, Ambassador of Spain to the UAE, and other officials from both sides.
Before the signing ceremony, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Etihad Rail with the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Etihad Rail, inspected the network construction progress in Sharjah and Fujairah which extends over 145 km.
The wo companies have dot disclosed the number of trains will be delivered, but according to Etihad Rail’s plan to launch passenger trains, each train would have a capacity of 400 passengers and will be able to run at a speed of 250 km/h.
The procurement of push-pull passenger trains is part of Etihad Rail’s strategy to develop passenger services with plans to connect 11 cities and locations in the country from Al Sila to Fujairah. Passengers will be able to commute between Abu Dhabi to Dubai in only 50 minutes, between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah in only 100 minutes, between Dubai and Fujairah in only 50 minutes, and between Abu Dhabi and Al Ruwais in only 70 minutes.
To implement the project, Etihad Rail and First Abu Dhabi Bank signed in February 2022 a financing agreement worth AED 1.99 billion (USD 541.89 million) to start the delivery of country’s first passenger train services.
The company which manages and implements the construction of UAE’s rail network says that by 2030, the passenger traffic will increase to 36.5 million passengers per year.
Currently, Etihad Rail is constructing the Stage Two of UAE’s rail system which is 75% completed. The excavation works for all tunnels totalling 6.9 km are finalised while the 256 km of mainline linking Dubai and Abu Dhabi has been also completed. The Stage Two of UAE rail system extends the current network by 605 km and when completed, the entire system is expected to carry 60 million tonnes of goods per year, reducing transport costs by 30%.
The delivery of passenger services is part of the USD 13.6 billion national rail strategy which will boost UAE’s rail transport development and will also lead to the reduction of 80% of carbon emissions in the next five decades.
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