Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE's national railway, said it has won approval from the transport authority to start commercial operations on the Stage One of the network which connects Habshan to Shah, Mirfa and Ruwais.

With this official safety authorisation from the UAE government, Etihad Rail moves from trial operations to full commercial services, said a senior official.

The Stage One will transport Sulphur from Shah and Habshan to the port of Ruwais on two daily trains, each transporting 11,000 tonnes. This will dramatically decrease the number of trucks on the road, remarked Dr Abdulla Bilhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Transport Authority – Land & Maritime (FTA), who granted the approval at an official ceremony in Dubai.

The FTA accredited Etihad Rail’s operations partner Etihad Rail DB to commence commercial operations on the 264-km-route, which forms part of the wider UAE network spanning across 1,200 km and the future GCC network at the function which was attended by Nasser Alsowaidi, the chairman of Etihad Rail and other board members.

“We are very pleased to have granted these important safety authorizations for the first stage of the UAE’s national rail network, allowing Etihad Rail to begin commercial operations,” said Dr Al Nuaimi.

“This is a result of the combined efforts of the FTA, Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi, the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai, Etihad Rail and Etihad Rail DB to ensure that this important strategic project for the future of the country operates to the highest standards,” he added.

Alsowaidi said the start of commercial operations is one of the biggest milestones Etihad Rail has achieved to date and it is an incredibly proud day for the UAE and for the wider Middle East transport sector.

“These authorizations are testament to the FTA’s confidence in our company’s abilities to safely operate the railway according to the highest international standards,” he remarked.

“During the past year, we have already transported more than three million tonnes of Sulphur from Shah and Habshan to the port of Ruwais for our customer, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), as part of the testing and commissioning and trial operations phases,” stated Alsowaidi.

“We now look forward to taking our operations to full commercial capacity, which will see Etihad Rail transport as much as seven million tonnes of Sulphur every year,” he added.

The new federal law which outlines how the UAE will govern railways requires rail companies to present evidence to the FTA that it can safely operate and maintain a railway system.

The FTA led a team comprising the Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi and the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai (RTA) to provide evidence and assurances that Etihad Rail has designed, constructed and will operate the railway to the highest international standards.

With the safety authorizations being issued, the UAE officially joins a select group of countries that reap the rewards of having an advanced railway system. -TradeArabia News Service