A high-level delegation from UAE's rail company Union Railway visited Australia and Korea in line with its objective to learn from best practice and experience in railway businesses from across the globe.

Union Railway chairman Hussain J. Al Nowais, who led the delegation, said the visit highlighted the rail company's commitment to developing educational programs focused on management and operation of railways.

In both Australia and Korea, Al Nowais, who was joined by the company’s CEO, Richard Bowker and other senior executives, briefed government officials, investors and leading companies on Union Railway’s strategic plan to develop a national freight and passenger railway in all the seven emirates over the next eight years.

A focal point of the Australian leg of the trip was to meet with a number of educational institutions in Australia, including Queensland University of Technology, University of Wollongong and TAFE to discuss the development of advanced training programs for UAE Nationals in the management and operation of railways.

Al Nowais said, “Union Railway is highly committed to developing educational and training programs in order to create a new generation of UAE nationals equipped with the necessary tools to effectively manage and operate the country's upcoming railway and run the railway industry in years to come.”

The delegation also met rail policy and regulatory experts, specialists in safety and security experts, as well as a wide variety of railway companies and engineering companies involved in the construction, operation and management of railway facilities, systems and rolling stock to learn from their extensive capability and experience.

Commenting on the trip, Al Nowais said, “There was immense interest from both Australian and Korean companies in the Union Railway project and the related infrastructure and services.”

He pointed out that the interest reflected the confidence of the global business community in the UAE’s investment and business environment.

Union Railway will carry out a transparent and competitive tendering process, with tenders planned to be issued in the third quarter of 2010 for the initial phase of the railway, Al Nowais added.-TradeArabia News Service