You will soon be able to travel to Saudi Arabia from the UAE by rail, thanks to a direct rail network currently in development.
The UAE is renowned for its bold infrastructure, technology and architecture – it successfully sent a probe to Mars earlier this year, and the world’s first superfast hyperloop system is planned to link its two main cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Once up and running, it will connect the seven emirates with a passenger and freight transport track.
It will come as little surprise, then, that one of its most elaborate travel projects is the 1200km long Etihad Rail network. Once up and running, it will connect the seven emirates with a passenger and freight transport track.
It has already ferried around 36.9 million tonnes of granulated sulphur, and work on the second phase (which is split into Packages A, B, C and D) began at the start of 2021. Some of the stops along the journey will include Abu Dhabi, KIZAD, Khalifa Port, Jebel Ali Port, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah, linking with the existing line at Ruwais, effectively uniting the key industrial ports and trading centres of the UAE.
The UAE is renowned for its bold infrastructure, technology and architecture
The project is planned to go beyond the UAE’s borders in the longer term, linking up with other Gulf states. A strategic agreement between Etihad Rail and Saudi Arabia Railways has already been agreed upon in March of this year.