Recently, the Etihad Passenger Railway – the UAE ’s first passenger  rail line – officially commenced trial operations, with China Railway International Group Co., Ltd. (CRIG) as the general contractor and China Railway Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CRCEG) as a participating contractor.

Linking Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, the first operational section of the Etihad Passenger Railway, has a total journey time of approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. When fully completed, the railway is planned to connect 11 cities and regions across all seven emirates of the UAE, featuring 11 passenger stations. It is projected to handle 36 million passenger trips annually by 2030.Of these stations, China Railway Group Limited (CREC) undertakes the construction of three large- and medium-sized stations: Abu Dhabi MBZ Station, Dubai Al Yalayis Station and Fujairah Station, with a combined gross floor area exceeding 20,000 square metres.

Zeng Jixin, Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, remarked that the project has filled a critical gap in the UAE’s national  passenger railway infrastructure. He hailed it as a landmark achievement of high-quality China-UAE cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and a successful example serving to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and advances pragmatic cooperation across various sectors.