Etihad Rail is a 1,200-kilometer railway project that will be the first national freight and passenger railway network in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), connecting the seven emirates and promoting trade and social development in the Emirate and across the GCC countries.
The railway project is expected to be a sustainable alternative for freight and passenger transportation throughout the Emirate’s urban and rural areas. It is expected to carry approximately 16 million passengers and 50 million tons of cargo. It will make a significant contribution to lowering road traffic emissions.
The Etihad Rail network reaches the borders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the west. The western section connects to Saudi Arabia via Ghweifat, while the eastern section connects to Oman via Al Ain. The railway line connects Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai and runs across the Emirate. Then it goes on to the northern emirates and Fujairah.
The rail network will be built in 3 stages. The first phase of the railway network, which opened in 2016, is a 266-kilometer-long western stretch between Al Ruwais and Shah. It connects Ruwais and Habshan, and then Habshan and Shah.
The second phase connects Abu Dhabi with Dubai. It is also linked to the ports of Jebel Ali, Musaffah, and Khalifa. The third phase entails connecting the northern Emirates. The second and third phases are scheduled for completion in 2024.
Dextra is currently supplying various engineered solutions for the second phase of rail network construction, which includes the construction of a 200km main line in Abu Dhabi and a 40km branch line to Khalifa port, a 78km main line in Dubai and a 20km branch line to Jebel Ali port, a 98km main line from Sharjah to Fujairah and a 29km branch line to Tawyeen, as well as associated facilities.
These solutions were delivered to the railway tunnel construction site.
110,000 Bartec couplers for concrete structure reinforcement.
32,000 Sonitec tubes for the CSL (crosshole sonic logging) testing of foundation piles.
69,000 steel rock-bolts for stabilizing rock excavations.
400 GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) rock-bolts.
660 umbrella pipes for stabilizing tunnel headings.
Source of top image: https://filipinotimes.net/news/2019/12/19/coming-soon-rail-network-linking-dubai-fujairah-khorffakan-ports/