Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s national railway, plans to triple its fleet with the announcement of an award of a contract for the manufacture, supply and commissioning of 842 new wagons bringing its total fleet to more than 1000 units.
This will raise Etihad Rail’s annual transport capacity to 59 millon tonnes.
As part of the Etihad Railway's Stage Two the contract was awarded to CRRC Corporation Limited, a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer.
The on-line signing ceremony was attended by HE Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman, Etihad Rail and Sun Yongcai, President, CRRC Corporation.
The contract signing was conducted by Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail, and Wang Hongwei, Vice President of CRRC Yangtze Group, a subsidiary of CRRC Corporation Limited.
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The newly acquired wagons will be manufactured according to specific GCC requirements, including state-of-the-art breaking, signalling, and communications control and safety systems, while being tailor made for the specific regional environmental conditions in general and for the UAE in particular.
Stage Two of the network will extend 605 kilometres from Ghuweifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah and Khorfakkan on the UAE’s east coast.
This will connect the ports of Jebel Ali in Dubai, Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, ICAD—Industrial City Abu Dhabi / Mussafah in Abu Dhabi and the Port of Fujairah, with the existing Stage One line at Ruwais.
This effectively unites all major industrial ports and trading centres of the country while opening up cross-border rail traffic to the GCC.