UK and UAE transport chiefs sign rail deal

▶ Britain to advise on safety, accident investigation and innovation, showing railway plan is back on track

Britain has signed an agreement with the UAE to provide help in regulating railways, in another sign that the country’s plans for a wider network are back on the fast track.

The agreement between the Federal Transport Authority and the UK’s Ministry of Transport covers safety standards and accident investigations, as well as research and innovation.

It was signed by Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development and chairman of the Federal Transport Authority, and the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling.

The deal means officials from both organisations will work together and take part in exchange visits when needed.

The UK was the first country in the world to develop a modern railway network in the early 19th century.

The UAE, at present, operates only one service, a 264-kilometre freight line to Ruwais that carries sulphur by-products from the oilfields of Shah and Rabsham.

The line began operating in 2013 but plans by Etihad Rail to expand freight services across the country were put on hold two years ago.

Since the New Year, however, a series of announcements have suggested that railways are back on the agenda for the future.

Etihad Rail is reported to be on the verge of offering tenders for the second stage of its network, which would expand freight services to 1,200km with stops in Khalifa Port and Jebel Ali in Dubai.

Abdullah Al Kathiri, the director general of the Federal Authority for Land and Marine Transport, also indicated that trains from the UAE could soon run across international borders, probably within four years. “By the end of December 2021 we will have a connection between us and the Saudis,” he told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia’s own rail network includes passenger services, something that currently does not figure in the UAE’s plans.

The country is about to begin operating the 300-kilometre-per-hour high-speed Haramain Express, which will carry pilgrims to Hajj and Umrah between Makkah and Madinah.

The 450km journey, which can take up to six hours by bus, will be shortened to just two hours.

In 2009, GCC members agreed to work towards a unified single network by 2021, although most members have yet to begin work.

Once complete, a GCC network could, in theory, extend throughout the Middle East, if peace and stability returns to countries such as Syria and Iraq. It raises the potential for trains to one day run from cities in the UAE to cities such as London and Paris in Europe and destinations in China and India in the East.

In 2009, GCC members agreed to work towards a unified single network by 2021, although most members have yet to begin work