By IANS
Abu Dhabi : A railway network connecting all states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start operating from the year 2013, according to media reports Wednesday.
Construction work of the first phase of the 800 km passenger and cargo rail network is expected to begin early next year, the WAM news agency said.The network – which will carry containers, dry bulk, cement, sand, rock, aggregates and petrochemical products – will ease road traffic congestion.
It will start at the Abu Dhabi-Saudi Arabia border and would ultimately link up with the proposed 1000-km railway network of the six neighbouring Arabian Gulf countries.
The deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the UAE National Day in Dec 2005, had promised that a study would be conducted on the construction of a freight and container train project to connect all the UAE`s emirates as a first phase and a commuter train project will follow as the second phase.
“We are confident that the Emirates Railways can be transformed into a major freight transportation system throughout the Arabian Gulf region. Such railways will consolidate the role played by the UAE in an endeavour to make it the logistic services` eastern gateway to the Middle East and global markets,” he noted.
An agreement was signed between the UAE and Germany in 2005 during the state visit of the then German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to increase the cooperation between the UAE and German transportation consulting companies in the field of rail systems.
The agreement was aimed at exploring the potential for rail-based transportation in the UAE, utilizing German know-how in railway technology, railway infrastructure and operational experience in track guided transportation.