Reportedly, the rail project linking between Dubai and Abu Dhabi was still on going. Mr. Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, the member of Board of Directors and CEO-Maritime Agency at Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) indicated that the plan had not been cancelled.
In fact, the rail plan had been suspended as the freight transportation is prior to passengers.
Once the rail is completed, the UAE will have two rail lines linking Dubai and Abu Dhabi. One will be for passengers and the other will be for freight. However, the original design for the 1,500 kilometers of railway has been changed to 1,200 kilometers on a project valued US$11 billion.
Meanwhile, the first freight operation is expected to begin in 2013; furthermore, the entire UAE network would be completed in 2019, though it remains unclear when passenger trains would begin to operate.
UAE expects that the extensive rail network would help to strengthen the country’s role as a trading economy and a logistics hub for businesses and industries in the region and the overseas market.
News Date 4/1/2011 9:01:55 AM reported by Ellen Huang
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