By Simon West
Siemens Mobility is among the many corporations which have been awarded contracts by the Oman and Etihad Rail Firm (OERC) for a challenge to construct a 303-kilometer railway line linking Oman and the UAE.
OERC, a three way partnership fashioned by the 2 international locations in 2022, launched the Oman-Etihad Railway – lately rebranded to Hafeet Rail – because the Center East’s first cross-country rail challenge.
The challenge has an estimated price ticket of US$3 billion and when full, will transport passengers and freight between Abu Dhabi within the UAE and Sohar in northern Oman. The Omani part of the community marks the sultanate’s first-ever railway system.
Siemens Mobility will work alongside Egypt’s Hassan Allam Building to ship the design, construct and integration of the community’s ETCS Degree 2 signaling, telecom and energy provide methods.
“The signaling options are state-of-the artwork and desert-proof,” Siemens stated in a submitting.
The design-and-build contract was awarded to a consortium led by NPC, a unit of Abu Dhabi-based Trojan Building Group, and Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Contracting. Center East enterprise publication MEED quoted sources as saying that an engineering design agency for the challenge could be appointed “imminently”.
A New Period in Bilateral Ties
In accordance with the OERC, the community marks a “new chapter” of collaboration between the UAE and Oman.
“It’ll enhance provide chain effectivity and facilitate cross-border commerce by linking industrial ports to the railway community. It’ll additionally enhance market competitiveness and cut back the full value of provide chains as a consequence of its excessive ranges of effectivity in comparison with different technique of transportation,” the OERC stated.
Passenger trains on the road could have a high velocity of 200 kilometers per hour and supply an end-to-end journey time from Abu Dhabi to Sohar of 1 hour 40 min. Freight trains will attain high speeds of 120 kilometers per hour.
No timelines have been launched for the completion of the challenge.
The UAE’s home Etihad Rail community started freight operations final 12 months and take a look at runs of its passenger companies in January. The road stretches 900 kilometers from the city of Ghuweifat on the Saudi border to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman coast by way of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah.
The community is anticipated to have a cargo capability of 60 million tons by 2030.
Breakbulk Center East 2025 is happening on 10-11 February in Dubai.
MAIN PHOTO: Etihad Rail freight prepare within the UAE. CREDIT: Etihad Rail
SECOND PHOTO: Etihad Rail takes supply of its first superior rolling inventory fleet. CREDIT: Etihad Rail
