Etihad Rail signed a joint venture with France’s Keolis to operate passenger services on the Emirates’ national rail network set to connect major cities in the UAE, Keolis International CEO Laurence Broseta told CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime: 5:32). The French transportation firm will deploy digital tools, including journey-planning apps and AI-powered predictive maintenance, to improve operational efficiency, Broseta added.

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Still on track: UAE rail passenger services remain on track to launch by 2026, with Etihad Rail confirming progress on building a nationwide network that will connect 11 cities and regions from Al Sila in west Fujairah to Dubai, state news agency Wam reports.

Planned travel times include 57 minutes for the route between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, 105 minutes to travel from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah, and 70 minutes for the Abu Dhabi-Ruwais line, with each train carrying 400 passengers across multiple daily trips, Etihad Rail Mobility Deputy CEO Azza Al Suwaidi said. A parallel high-speed rail line will cut journeys between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to 30 minutes at 350 km/h, expected to contribute AED 145 bn to GDP over 50 years.

On the freight side, Etihad Rail signed an agreement with AD Ports Group to link Abu Dhabi and Fujairah ports, aiming to accelerate cargo movement, improve logistics efficiency, and support decarbonization efforts, Wam reports.

The wider picture: The upcoming GCC railway has also made headway, with more than 4k km of the 5k km regional network already completed in Saudi Arabia, while the UAE has around 200 km left to finish, Khaleej Times reports, citing comments from Etihad Rail CEO Shadi Malak. The route could see passengers travel between the UAE and Saudi Arabia in under five hours, as well as cut down the time of logistics operations between Oman and Kuwait, Malak noted.

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