Etihad Rail, formerly known as Union Railway, was established in June 2009 under Federal Law No. 2 to manage the development, construction and operation of the United Arab Emirates’ national freight and passenger railway network.

The 1,200km railway network is being built in stages to link the principal centres of population and industry of the UAE, as well as to form a vital part of the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) railway network.

The Etihad Rail network is being delivered in stages and commercial operations commenced in 2016. The freight trains travel at 120 km/h and passenger trains on the network will run at speeds of up to 200 km/h. The First stage of network is fully operational and delivered on time and within budget.

The network is mainly double track, designed for mixed-use traffic, equipped with an in-cab European signalling system (ETCS level 2), is of standard gauge, and is being built to accommodate double stack containers.