The developer and operator of the UAE’s national railway network has officially handed over control of operations to the joint venture formed, in March last year, between Etihad Rail and DB Schenker. Etihad Rail DB will manage the operation and maintenance of the first stage of the UAE’s national railway network from the control centre in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. Construction of the 264-kilometre Etihad Rail first phase, which will transport more than seven million tonnes of granulated sulphur a year, was completed at the start of the year and trains are currently running on a trial basis. Eventually the US$11 billion network is expected to span 1,200km, connecting all of the emirates and linking it to Saudi Arabia and Oman. “The control centre is at the core of the railway network,” said Faris Saif Al Mazrouei, the Etihad Rail chief executive. “The qualified staff members working in the control centre are responsible for the overall control and command of the system including all train movements, and this move is an important step forward.”
A delayed 628km second phase linking Dubai and Abu Dhabi is expected to be awarded over the coming months after it was first tendered in July 2012.
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