Phase 2

Phase 2 will link Ruwais and Ghweifat, connecting to the Saudi border. There will also be a link from Tarif to Dubai and Al-Ain, which will connect to the Oman border.

This line will connect all the major ports and airports in the UAE, linking Mussafah port to the new Khalifa Port in Taweelah and Dubai’s mega-port in Jebel Ali. The total length of the line is 628 kilometres. Bids for four design-and-build contracts are still being assessed. Shortlisted consultants are waiting to hear which firm has won the project management consultancy deal. This phase is expected to be operational by 2017.

Phase 2, package A

Package A covers the design-and-build work for 137km of line linking Ghweifat to Ruwais.

Phase 2, package B

Package B covers the design-and-build work on 190km of track linking Liwa and Al-Ain. Packages B and F were tendered in July, but as yet no contracts

Phase 2, package C

Package C covers the construction of 186km of track between Al-Ain and Jebel Ali port in Dubai.

Phase 2, package D

Package D, which covers the provision of systems, was tendered in July 2012.

Phase 2, package F

Package F covers the construction of a branch line between Mussafah and Abu Dhabi Industrial City.

Phase 3

Phase 3 will connect Dubai to the Northern Emirates of Fujairah and Ras al-Khaimah. The total track length will be 279km and is due to be completed by 2018. Preliminary engineering work is taking place on this phase but no contracts have been tendered as yet.

Jebel Ali port

Port operator DP World signed a preliminary agreement with Etihad Rail in 2012 to oversee the development of an intermodal rail terminal at Jebel Ali port. DP World will oversee the building and operation of the loading and unloading facilities at the rail terminal, while Etihad Rail will construct and own the railway infrastructure and manage the rail services to and from the terminal.

It is estimated that by 2030 the Jebel Ali terminal will have a capacity to handle the transfer of 5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year.

DP World is currently looking to appoint an international consultant to oversee how the port will integrate a rail system within its boundaries with the planned Etihad Railway. The tender has been floated and the company is looking to appoint the consultant this year.

Northern Emirates

There will be a number of industries that will generate traffic on phases 2 and 3 of the Etihad Railway network.

The majority of the freight carried on the trains from the Northern Emirates will be made up of aggregates and construction materials.

Cement factories in the Northern Emirates will also need locomotives to carry limestone to the factories and transport out cement powder and clinker. At the end of last year, Eithad Rail signed a preliminary agreement with Sharjah Cement Factory, making the firm the first prospective customer for stage 3 of the rail network.

Steel and aluminium factories along the UAE coastline will also benefit from the railway. Emirates Steel has already signed an agreement with Etihad Rail to use the network.

Intermodal trains

The intermodal locomotives that will be used on phases 2 and 3 of the rail network are expected to have a capacity of 260 TEUs. The Ghweifat-Jebel Ali line is expected to carry 90 container trains a week once operational. The Ghweifat-Sharjah line will carry 20 trains a week.