Etihad Rail, the rail company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cosco Shipping Ports Abu Dhabi Container Freight Station. The partnership will enable Cosco’s subsidiary to use the UAE’s railway network to move its cargo from the Khalifa port, 100 kilometres south of Dubai, to other logistics centres in the country.

However, the move might also have an international motive, as the UAE is collaborating with its neighbour Oman to create a railway link from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. Despite not being completed yet, as Oman is currently building its railway network, the project has already attracted customers such as Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel, a large steel producer.

Since the Khalifa port will eventually be connected to the railway network going to Oman, Cosco’s partnership with Etihad Rail might have international rail connections in mind. Rail freight is also a relatively new sector in the UAE. The national railway network connecting all seven emirates became fully operational only in February 2023. The EAU expects this new network to reduce road traffic by 21 per cent by 2050.

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