Emirates Railway Will Expand the Intermodal Network Across Desert Regions

Emirates Railway is currently undergoing an expansion plan that will increase the scope of the company’s railways across the desert regions of the emirates. The companies Etihad Rail and JBC Express Freight LLC announced in October of 2013, a joint effort to create an intermodal network across the desert regions. Stage one of the plan is the completion of the Shah-Habshan-Ruwais Railway Project which is expected to be completed by the end of 2014. This rail line is 264km in length and will end all the way from the Shah gas fields to the port of Ruwais in the north. The second stage of the project will be to serve the ports at Jebel Ali and Khalifa from Mussafah and also to connect to the Saudi and Omani borders. The final stage of the project, stage three, will be to create connections up to the Northern Emirates. Upon completion, the entire network will be about 1,200 km in length and will span across the entire Emirates. The network is also being designed to serve passengers as well as freight. It has been designed with the purpose of hastening economic development in the region and to also bridge the gap between rural and urban areas. The entire rail network for the UAE will be designed according to international standards and is anticipated the the up to seven years to be completed in full. Part of the plan which is also known as the Union Railway is anticipated to be able to transport up to 30 million metric tons of freight during the first phrase of the operation. The Union Railway is also looking into a plan with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) which will transport upwards of 7 million tons of granulated sulfur per year. This plan is designed to help Abu Dhabi National Oil Company achieve its other goals of developing the nation’s interests in oil, petrochemical and natural gas industries. The Abu Dhabi Freight and Passenger committee also invitedcontractors to bid back in 2010 on contracts to build auxiliary items such as warehousing facilities, maintenance facilities, highways and bridges to increase the economic reach of the railroad once it is complete. These contracts are currently beginning initiation. The winning bidders are not only responsible for building the facilities but also for the development of the land in reg ads to cutting into the sand dunes and clearance of the earth.