UAE Rail & Transportation Infrastructure – Update December 2017
UAE Rail & Transportation Infrastructure Plans to 2030
In line with the objective to further diversify the UAE economy as set by the UAE Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, investment and construction in UAE rail & transportation infrastructure is set to continue over the next decade, with rail a key growth driver – “The leaders of the UAE understand that transportation is the new broadband, with the power to transform life.”
A national masterplan for infrastructure (in all sectors — road, rail, marine infrastructure, education, and health) is also being prepared by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and will be ready within two years. The masterplan aims at improving investment and enhancing the efficiency of many infrastructure projects including the GCC rail project and the planned Abu Dhabi Metro. Each emirate will implement its own projects but within the proposed UAE masterplan
Read more about the GCC Rail Project Here
Upcoming UAE Rail &Transportation Projects
The UAE has the second largest transportation pipeline in the Middle East, with a total of 71 projects collectively worth $54.6bn currently under construction or in planning – greater in value than the UAE’s energy, utilities, and social infrastructure pipelines.
- Road projects account for nearly half of all active projects in the UAE
- Rail projects account for the second largest component of the UAE’s transport infrastructure projects, with 15 ongoing and upcoming railway projects worth $13.9bn in November 2017 Investments of $30bn in the UAE’s railway networks include that in Abu Dhabi Metro and Light Rail, skyTran Yas Island, the next stages of the Etihad Rail national network, the Dubai Metro extension for Expo 2020 and the new stages of the Al Sufouh Tram, said the report.
- The 1,200-kilometre Etihad Rail Network project is the largest rail project costing $11bn, forecast to be the “primary driver of growth” over the next 10 years
- Urban transit projects such as the expansion of the Dubai tram and the construction of new metro and tram systems in Abu Dhabi are also predicted to sustain construction and investment activity in the UAE’s rail and transportation infrastructure sector in the next few years
What Is The Etihad Rail Network Project?
Etihad Rail (formerly known as Union Railway) is the national railway of the UAE. It was established in June 2009 under Federal Law to manage the development, construction, and operation of the United Arab Emirates’ national freight and passenger railway network.
- The Etihad Rail Network project will link major industrial zones, cities and ports in the UAE, and will eventually connect with the GCC railway (and the other 5 GCC countries). The GCC planned 2,100 km passenger and freight network rail project is scheduled to be completed by 2021 (having been pushed back 3 years) is integral to the UAE masterplan, with the completion of the rail link between Saudi Arabia and the UAE a priority
- The Etihad Rail network is being built in phases and once completed the network will be 1,200 km long. In the south it will run up to the border of Saudi Arabia and to Oman in the east. It will have several freight terminals, distribution centres and depots located close to major transport hubs, warehouses, and storage facilities across the UAE
- Phase 1 – Etihad Rail commenced commercial activity in December 2015 with phase 1. Currently it offers freight services within the UAE, including transporting more than 7.4m tonnes of granulated sulphur for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) with completed 264 kilometres completed. Etihad Rail DB successfully launched the first phase of operations in January 2016
- Phase 2 – Etihad Rail suspended the procurement process for 628km stage 2 in 2016, however in November 2017 Abu Dhabi has re-engaged with stakeholders for the design and route alignment for the upcoming phases
Upcoming Dubai Rail & Transportation Projects
Dubai already has a well-established metro and tram network
The Dubai metro is the world’s longest driver-less and fully automated metro rail network with a length of 74.6 km with planned investment to extend for the Expo 2020
The Dubai tram network is considered as the first type of tram service outside Europe that works on underground power supply and covers a distance of 10.6 km with 11 stations
However, Dubai’s vehicle density of 540 cars per 1,000 people is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the world with an average annual increase of vehicles of 8.2% and forecast to reach 2.22m vehicles by 2020. Some of the congestion has been eased by the Dubai Metro, which saw over 191m passenger journeys in 2016, up 12.7 million year-on-year.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Dubai is, therefore, looking at solutions to ease congestion with plans to revolutionize the transport sector.
- Investigations are being carried out on prototypes such as autonomous transport systems and marine transport and Dubai has recently launched a number of schemes to move forward in this direction, as part of its Smart City initiative
- Dubai Hyperloop – by 2020, Dubai will become home to the world’s first Hyperloop One transport link, a 20km-long prototype of the Elon Musk-inspired Hyperloop transportation system operating at a speed of 1,200km/h. Construction of the multibillion-dollar, high-tech transport system will reduce the 150km trip between Dubai and Abu Dhabi to a mere 12 minutes. The Hyperloop One transport link is also being designed to facilitate speedy transportation between the Emirates
- In September 2017 Dubai carried out prototype testing crewless two-seater electric ‘flying taxis’, called the Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT), manufactured by German company Volocopter. A rollout would be gradual says Khaled Al Awadhi, director of automated collection systems at the RTA, but “our target by the coming five years (is) seeing this type of transportation flying all over the city”, in line with an announcement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, who in 2016 called for 25% of all transport in Dubai to be autonomous by 2030.
- Dubai RTA is also testing self-driving vehicles driverless pod concept, electric cars, a mix of Model S sedans and Model X SUVs with semi-autonomous systems
Upcoming Abu Dhabi Rail & Transportation Projects – Abu Dhabi Metro
The metro is currently still in feasibility, design and tender stages under Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport initiative, the Surface Transport Master Plan (STMP) The metro will be 131 km long and provide connectivity between Abu Dhabi, its suburbs and the communities of Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and Al Raha Beach.
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