UAE & India Plan Huge Subsea Railway

The UAE National Advisor Bureau Limited has announced a project to link Fujairah, UAE, with Mumbai, India, via a Subsea Tunnel Project.

Eng. Abdulla Alshehhi, Managing Director of the National Advisor Bureau Limited, said: "The project, which is currently at the concept stage, is meant to connect the UAE and the other GCC countries for the first time with Indiavia a subsea tunnel and an ultra speed subsea railway line, with the aim of improving the bilateral trade between the two nations."

Eng. Abdulla also quoted Mahatma Gandhi who once said, "in a gentle way, you can shake the world."

The main aims for the project are to:

• Transport passengers, tourists and workers between the UAE (as well as other GCC countries) and India
• Export oil & gas from Fujairah Port to India via a pipeline and possibly China and Pakistan
• Import water from Narmada River, north of Mumbai to the UAE (it is well noted that the Narmada River is flooding during monsoon season; excess water may be exported to the UAE)
• Transport goods and commodities between both nations
• Supply bunker fuel to ships passing between the floating pontoons via a floating bunker fuel station

Future expansion may include the One Belt One Road Initiative, linking the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor at Gwadar Port with the UAE (and other Gulf Cooperation Countries) via Fujairah Port to complement the Chinese silk road.

Future train stations may also include the port city of Karachi in Pakistan and Muscat, the capital city of Oman.

The speed of trains to be used can be set to the range of 600-1000 km/h.

At this speed, the 1826km distance between Mumbai to Fujairah station can be covered within two-four hours while Gawader port in Pakistan to Fujairah can be covered within one hour.

The concept of the tunnel is based on well-known technology applied to floating bridges, offshore structures & immersed tunnels.

Read more: UAE & India to Tighten Ties on Infrastructure