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Passengers face delays as Etihad Rail tender extended

By Gavin Gibbon
The ambitious Abu Dhabi-Dubai high-speed rail project, set to drastically cut commute times, sees its tender deadline extended Alamy via Reuters
The ambitious Abu Dhabi-Dubai high-speed rail project, set to drastically cut commute times, has had its tender deadline extended
  • Abu Dhabi-Dubai rail link
  • Proposals due September 1
  • Tender deadlines shift

Passengers awaiting the UAE’s high-speed rail link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai may face delays after the submission deadline for key construction tenders was pushed back.

Etihad Rail, the state-owned developer behind the project, originally set an early May deadline for bids covering civil works and station design for the passenger line. 

That date has now been extended to August 1, with commercial proposals due by September 1, according to Dubai-based industry publication Meed.

The company issued the tender packages in January as part of the first phase of the network. Etihad Rail did not respond to a request for comment.

The rail link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is expected to be operational by 2030 and would cut commuting times considerably. Previous reports suggest travel between proposed stations at Al Jaddaf and Yas Island would take just 30 minutes.

The 150km mega-project will have a further three stations, at Al-Zahiyah, Saadiyat Island and Abu Dhabi airport. Trains running on the network will have an operating speed of 320km/hr.

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