The railway contains 593 bridges and crossings and 9 tunnels spanning 6.5km, permitting trains to go cleanly via mountain terrain with out disrupting present roads or communities. On future cross-border routes, the Hafeet Rail connection in the direction of Oman is anticipated to supply views of Jebel Hafeet, Abu Dhabi’s highest mountain, from which it takes its title.
While metropolis skylines will briefly become visible close to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, a lot of the journey runs via areas not often seen by automotive – a quieter, slower unfolding of the nation’s much less acquainted landscapes.
Can I journey from Saudi Arabia to Oman on Etihad Rail?
Eventually, sure – and perhaps even to the remainder of the GCC. Thanks to a 2023 settlement, Etihad Rail will join Abu Dhabi to Sohar Port. Construction on this line, Hafeet Rail, started in May 2024. The train trip between Abu Dhabi metropolis and Sohar will possible take 1 hour 40 minutes, in contrast to the practically three hours it takes by street. From Al Ain to Sohar will take simply 47 minutes.
At the different finish, Ghuwaifat, the border crossing city between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, is anticipated to be one in every of Etihad Rail’s launch stations. So, connectivity between the northern emirates – or certainly Oman – and Saudi Arabia’s jap province received’t be an issue.
Saudi Arabia already has a monitor that connects Al Haditha close to the Jordanian border to Riyadh, and one other between Riyadh and Dammam. When a hyperlink between Dammam and Ghuwaifat is full, a three-country journey ought to be doable.
Does Etihad Rail join to the remainder of the GCC?
Etihad Rail’s 900km community will prolong throughout the UAE, from the border of Saudi Arabia to the border of Oman. For now, Oman is the solely worldwide operation the place work is underway. However, there are alerts that Etihad Rail may join to the remainder of the Arabian Peninsula inside just a few years as a part of the $100-billion Gulf Cooperation Council regional rail community. It’s been in dialogue since a minimum of 2004, however has begun chugging alongside lately. A 650km Saudi-Kuwait rail hyperlink is anticipated to be completed by 2028.
Etihad Rail’s luxurious service
This being the UAE, there actually is a luxurious model. Etihad Rail agreed with Italian luxurious hospitality firm Arsenale to recreate the golden age of train travel in the UAE, with what it calls a “rail cruise”.
The further service will run from Fujairah down to the Liwa Desert in Abu Dhabi. It will function 15 luxurious carriages which are at the moment being in-built Puglia and Sicily. The interiors and the onboard service are impressed by Emirati heritage and tradition, though everything will meet Italian high quality requirements. Think of it as the UAE’s reply to the Orient Express. Arsenale is additionally engaged on a luxurious train mission known as The Dream of the Desert in Saudi Arabia.
Let’s discuss about sustainability. How does train journey make a distinction?
The UAE desires to attain net-zero carbon emissions – balancing the quantity of CO2 despatched into the environment with the quantity taken out – by 2050. Etihad Rail’s electrification-ready infrastructure and aerodynamic trains are anticipated to reduce 8.2 million tonnes of CO₂ yearly by 2050, equal to eradicating 300 vehicles from UAE roads per train journey – a determine officers reaffirmed at Global Rail 2025.