The route, the numbers, the moment
The inaugural service connects Abu Dhabi and Fujairah with a journey time of one hour and 45 minutes, a dramatic cut from the roughly two and a half hours the same trip takes by road. The very first train departed Fujairah at 5.34 am, with passengers welcomed at the station with traditional Emirati dance and Arabic coffee, and arrived in Abu Dhabi seven minutes ahead of schedule. His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, inaugurated the Mohamed bin Zayed City Passenger Train Station in the capital as part of the launch.

Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Etihad Rail, called the network a defining moment for the country’s transport ecosystem, one built on modern technology to deliver a safe and efficient mobility system. The framing matters. This is not being pitched merely as a convenience for commuters, but as a structural piece of how the UAE wants to be seen, connected, efficient and diversifying beyond oil and aviation.

What the fleet and stations look like
The passenger fleet consists of 13 trains manufactured by the Spanish firm CAF, capable of speeds up to 200km/h and each carrying up to 400 passengers. Fujairah Station, the first to be fully completed in the network, sits within Hilal City, close to the emirate’s key economic hubs and roughly 12 minutes from Fujairah International Airport, with parking and ride hailing pick up points built in. Inside, elevators and escalators serve the platforms, alongside a premium lounge, a help desk, a police hub and real time timetable screens. Abu Dhabi Station in Mohamed Bin Zayed City will operate daily from 5 am to 11 pm, and amenities across stations include prayer rooms, family waiting areas, retail outlets and food and beverage counters.

Tickets, classes and how to book
Fares on the Abu Dhabi to Fujairah route start from Dh55 in Comfort Class and Dh120 in Premium Class, though this reflects a launch period discount of roughly half the regular Dh109 and Dh239 pricing. Within Comfort Class, travellers can choose between Standard, Value and Flex tiers, with the Flex option costing an additional Dh20, offering seat selection and a refundable booking, while the base Standard ticket has automatically assigned seating and no refunds. Children up to 17 travel at Dh28 in Comfort and Dh60 in Premium under the discount, seniors aged 60 and above pay Dh44 and Dh96 respectively, and infants under two travel free on an adult’s lap. Wheelchair users are charged standard adult or child fares, with designated spaces and priority seating subject to availability.

Bookings opened through the Etihad Rail app and website from 23rd June, and uptake has been swift. More than 10,000 tickets were sold in the week following the opening of bookings. Up to six services a day are expected to run between Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed Bin Zayed City station and Fujairah’s Al Hilal City station, spread across morning, afternoon and evening slots.

What the ride actually feels like
This is the part most likely to draw curious first time riders. Premium Class seats recline at the touch of a button and come with generous legroom, while both classes get USB and USB C charging points at every seat along with complimentary Wi-Fi. Retractable tray tables, overhead and under seat luggage storage, wall mounted hooks for bags, and dedicated seating for families and pregnant women feature across the cabins. Etihad Rail has been candid that for many residents, this will be their first experience of rail travel altogether, and station design has been shaped around that, with clear signage and staff on hand to guide first timers.

Interestingly, the cabin interiors also carry a distinctly national touch, featuring portraits of the UAE president and his sons woven into the contemporary design, a small but deliberate detail that ties the infrastructure project to the country’s broader identity building exercise.

The rollout still to come
The Abu Dhabi to Fujairah link is only the opening move. Dubai and Al Dhaid stations open on 30 September, followed by stations across the Al Dhafra region on 30 December, and the initial route will be completed when Sharjah station opens on 30 March 2027. Beyond that, feasibility studies are being conducted to evaluate expanding passenger rail into the remaining emirates and regions of the country. Once complete, the network will connect ten cities stretching from Al Sila in the west to Fujairah in the east, and Abu Dhabi to Dubai is projected to take under an hour, with Dubai to Fujairah around 69 minutes. A separate high speed line between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, expected to eventually cut that leg to just 30 minutes, is also part of the longer term plan.

There is a luxury dimension too. Etihad Rail has signed a deal with the Italian hospitality group Arsenale to develop a premium train experience, one that has drawn comparisons in spirit to the Orient Express, aimed squarely at the tourism market rather than daily commuters.

Why this matters beyond the timetable
The launch arrives less than five years after the UAE first announced its National Railway Programme as part of the “Projects of the 50” initiative in 2021, a pace officials are keen to highlight as proof the country can deliver large infrastructure ahead of schedule. Beyond the novelty factor, the economic logic is straightforward. Faster, cheaper intercity movement lowers the cost of doing business across emirates, opens northern emirates like Fujairah to a wider tourism catchment, and reduces reliance on congested highways. Once the network is fully operational, Etihad Rail expects to carry up to 10 million passengers a year, a figure that would meaningfully reshape domestic travel patterns in a country long defined by private car use.

For now, the practical takeaway for travellers is simple. The Abu Dhabi to Fujairah corridor is open, tickets are discounted for the launch window, and three more legs of the network arrive over the next nine months. Anyone curious about experiencing it first hand will not need to wait long to see the rest of the map fill in.

Image Credit: Etihad Website

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Hafeet Rail covers a distance of 238 kilometers, with the aim of developing a transportation system that will further deepen the economic integration between the two Middle Eastern countries. The project’s key infrastructural components include 2,500-meter-long tunnels, 36 viaducts, 21 over-bridges, 39 underpasses, and 881 culverts.

“Construction work is continuing at an accelerated pace at several strategic locations along the routes, such as Al Ain, Buraimi, Wadi al Jazi, and Suhar,” Hafeet Rail Company noted.

Given the fact that the route passes through urban and industrial areas, mountainous terrain, and deep valleys, the venture is deploying specialized engineering solutions, including large-scale excavation and the implementation of large engineering facilities such as bridges and tunnels, in addition to integrated flood protection systems, to ensure the system operates in a safe and sustainable manner.

Apart from connecting more than 12 passenger stations and cities across the two countries, the project will also link five major ports and more than 15 integrated freight facilities. While work has been ongoing in regions like Al Ain, Al Buraimi, Wadi Al Jizzi, and Suhar, significant excavation and backfilling works have been undertaken, totalling approximately 27 million cubic meters, in addition to over 100,000 cubic meters of concrete work.

As per the authorities, the project has achieved over 10 million safe work hours without any serious injuries, reflecting a commitment to safety and quality standards.

“The project also includes the construction of 60 bridges, some reaching heights of up to 34 meters, along with tunnels totalling approximately 2.5 kilometers in length, all within an infrastructure designed for the efficient transport of heavy goods,” Hafeet Rail Company said.

Sohar Port, a deep-sea port in the Sultanate of Oman, located midway between Muscat and Dubai, along with its surrounding industrial zone, is expected to be among the project’s primary beneficiaries.

The rail link will reduce the time required to transport goods to Gulf markets, enhancing the port’s attractiveness as a regional logistics hub. It is also expected to attract new industrial investments to the Omani regions like Al Buraimi and Suhar and adjacent economic zones, particularly in domains like heavy and light industries and storage and distribution centers.

While the Hafeet Rail project will attract investments to the construction, engineering, and logistics sectors of both Oman and the UAE, it will also support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by expanding their participation opportunities in the project’s supply chains and services.

“The project will also enhance the competitiveness of local products by facilitating import, export, and distribution processes, thereby increasing the competitiveness of Omani companies in regional and global markets,” Hafeet Rail Company concluded.

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The rail project, envisioned to transport 16 ⁠million ⁠metric tons of phosphate and potash annually, will span 360 kilometres, linking the mining areas of Al-Shidiya and Ghor Al-Safi in Jordan to its Aqaba port. The development is expected to have a major impact on Jordan’s mining sector, a core pillar of the Gulf country’s export economy.

“As part of the ⁠agreement, the UAE–Jordan Railway Company was launched as a joint venture between several Jordanian stakeholders and L’IMAD Holding Company, Abu Dhabi’s newest sovereign wealth fund,” the UAE’s state news agency said.

“The project is the first step in building ‌the Jordanian national railway network project to connect ⁠Aqaba with neighbouring Arab countries, and to link the port with those in Syria and the Mediterranean,” reported the Jordanian state ‌news agency (Petra).

The latest move builds on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2024 between the two countries to develop the railway, with full-scale implementation now taking centre stage.

The project will have an equal partnership between a consortium of Jordanian sovereign and industrial entities, including the Jordan Phosphate Mines Co., Arab Potash Co., the Government Investments Management Co., the Social Security Investment Fund, and Abu Dhabi-based L’imad Holding. The joint venture will be responsible for implementing the railway network through its executing arm, Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s national railway network.

As per the officials, the project’s financial close (recurring accounting process of verifying, adjusting, and finalising financial records) will likely happen by early 2027, with construction likely to take around five years. As per the engineering roadmap, multiple tunnels and bridges will be created to navigate the rugged terrain of southern Jordan and the Jordan Valley.

“By shifting these volumes from road to rail, the project is intended to drastically reduce per-unit transportation costs, enhance supply chain efficiency, and allow Jordanian minerals to compete more aggressively on the global stage,” Petra said.

Beyond its immediate industrial role, the railway represents the first phase of Jordan’s “National Railway Network.”

Plans include extending the line north toward Madounah near Amman, with further links to Syria, the Mediterranean, and Turkey, while also connecting to Saudi Arabia and wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets.

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The city has a history of implementing bold, futuristic ideas and is not afraid to take on ambitious projects.

The following are some of the ways the city demonstrates its resolve to lead the way in metropolitan development:

World’s Largest Airport

The largest airport in the world, Al Maktoum International (AMI), is located in Dubai, a city known for its brightly lit skyscrapers and busy streets.

On April 28, the airport announced the second phase of its expansion. It will be five times larger than Dubai International Airport (DXB) when it is finished.

AMI can handle up to 260 million passengers annually once it is fully operational, which will only serve to increase the city’s tourism even further.

Passengers are in for a treat, because the airport will be using technologies never seen in the aviation industry before.

The new airport will cover 70 square kilometres. More than 400 aircraft gates will be housed in five passenger terminals, which will have five parallel runways. It is anticipated that all DXB operations will progressively move to AMI within ten years.

Faster Travel On The Tracks

Residents of Dubai enjoy taking trips outside of the city, particularly on public holidays.

Travel between the Emirates will now be quicker and easier thanks to the nearly completed construction of the much awaited Etihad Rail passenger train.

The passenger train will make travel easier and more comfortable for locals by connecting 11 cities and regions throughout the United Arab Emirates.

It will pass through Al Sila and Fujairah, including Al Ruwais, Al Mirfa, Sharjah, and Al Dhaid, as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The UAE’s National Rail Network is now complete and in use for commercial purposes, according to the Etihad Rail website.

Flying Taxis To Shorten Abu Dhabi-Dubai Travel Time

It never occurred to anyone that flying cars would exist outside of science fiction. But Dubai has a remarkable ability to make the fantastical become real.

Soon, flying taxis will be accessible, reducing the duration of the trip from Abu Dhabi to Dubai to just thirty minutes.

Air taxi operations are anticipated to begin by 2025 or early 2026, according to Joby Aviation, a US-based company that develops electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service.

The 20-Minute City

With the help of this initiative, residents can travel throughout the city in sustainable ways by bicycle, foot, and transportation, and can arrive at their destinations in under 20 minutes.

According to the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, 55% of the population lives 800 meters or less from a mass transit station, making it possible for them to get to 80% of their daily needs and destinations.

In the meantime, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) revised its 2024–2030 strategic plan to account for non-driving commuters.

The goal of the RTA plan is to encourage the construction of transportation infrastructure and roads that will improve living in the 20-minute city.

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