Union Railway is inviting companies to express an interest by 3 June in carrying out a study for the impact and mitigation of dune sand on the UAE’s $11bn national railway.

The study will involve assessing the impact of sand on the construction and operation of the railway as the majority of the UAE’s network will be built in desert areas.

The work will be divided into three parts including a geomorphological study, track resilience tests and full scale trials of the track.

The successful company will study the low mobile dunes between Habshan and eastern Mezairaa. The low dunes consist of loose sand and the company will have to study the compaction and stability of the sand and what measures can be taken to reduce the impact of wind on the movement of the sand.

The study will also include determining the resilience of the track when covered with sand.

The successful company will also build four 30-metre long embankments on the Sabkha coastal plain, the low-lying mobile dunes, the deep dunes of Mezairaa and the valley floor of the Liwa dunes.

A full-ballasted 25-metre track will be built on each embankment. A section of slab track may also be built.

Union Railway is expected to invite companies to bid on the work on 6 June with an award scheduled to be made in July.

The first phase of the railway involves the construction of a 264-kilometre line connecting the Shah gas field in the south of the emirate with oil and gas processing and distribution facilities at the port of Ruwais in the north (MEED 24:3:10).

The route will be for freight transport initially although Union Railway is also planning passenger services.

The network will eventually include rail lines extending from Abu Dhabi’s Western region through the UAE’s other emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Ajman.