Dubai to Abu Dhabi high-speed train to start next year

• Linking Abu Dhabi and Dubai
• 30-minute journey
• Speeds up to 350 km/h

Etihad Rail, the UAE’s national rail project, will start its first high-speed passenger service next year.

The announcement was made during the visit of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler’s representative in Al Dhafra Region, the rail operator said in a post on social messaging platform X (formerly Twitter). The post did not specify which service will start.

In January the company announced plans to run the high-speed passenger rail service that will reduce travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to 30 minutes, reaching speeds of up to 350 km/h. Each train can accommodate up to 400 passengers.

The network will encompass six stations located in Reem Island, Saadiyat Island, and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and stations near Al Maktoum International Airport and the Jaddaf area in Dubai, the UAE state-run Wam reported in January.

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The service will also be expanded across the UAE to the emirates of Sharjah and Fujairah.

The rail service is predicted to add AED145 billion ($39 billion) to the UAE’s GDP over the next five decades, Mohammed Al Shehhi, chief projects officer at Etihad Rail, told Wam.

Etihad Rail runs a freight service across a 1,200km network in the UAE. 

The company is also working with Hafeet Rail to build a rail link between the UAE and Oman.