Etihad Rail update: tracks between Abu Dhabi and Dubai are now linked

The journey between the cities will take 50 minutes.

There is something new chugging on the horizon for the UAE. Etihad Rail and the UAE Railway Programme have just completed construction on the track linking Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The railway length is 256 kilometers and required 47 million hours of work by 13,300 workers to be completed.

The Abu Dhabi to Dubai railway also includes 29 bridges, 60 crossings, and 137 drainage channels. It is part of the larger UAE Railway Programme, which will connect everyone across the seven emirates.

The final pieces of the track were installed by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Etihad Rail.

The completion of the main railway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is a milestone moment in the railway expansion.

Furthermore, you can now see what Etihad Rail will look like in a new video that’s creating plenty of excitement for UAE residents for the future.

Last year, Etihad Rail announced it would be expanding to transport passengers by 2030 with rides between Abu Dhabi and Dubai set to take only 50 minutes. Currently, the Freight Rail service is operational and is used to transport goods and materials across the emirates, keeping heavy trucks off UAE roads. In no time at all, the railway will be transporting us across the emirates.

Etihad Rail has recently released footage of what the passenger section of the railway will look like on Instagram. It revealed: “Traveling at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour and with a capacity of up to 400 passengers per train, the passenger can travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in 50 minutes and Abu Dhabi to Fujairah in 100 minutes… by 2030.”

Etihad Rail has also shared footage of the latest expansion on Instagram. “The construction for the network expansion in the emirates consists of a 216-kilometer railway line. The expansion works are in addition to our current operating 264-kilometer railway track.”

Wondering what you can expect from the future railway? Etihad Rail will run from Ghuwaifat (close to Saudi Arabia) to the port of Fujairah. It will connect 11 cities and regions across the UAE. The railway will reduce carbon emissions by 70 to 80 percent and will also provide more than 9,000 jobs. By 2030, the number of passengers is expected to reach 36.5 million annually.

The future in the UAE is looking greener than ever, with new initiatives to curb the use of plastic with new tariffs for single-use plastic bags and a sustainable water bottle initiative in Dubai.

We also expect a surge in eco-tourism destinations such as Al Wathba lake, which has just opened a stunning new campsite.