The United Arab Emirates will finally get its long-awaited passenger rail network this year, in 2026. Etihad Rail has officially announced the first routes that will soon connect the country’s major cities. For commuters who daily brave the traffic on the E11 between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, this may provide a welcome solution.
The rail network will start with three main routes. The connection between Abu Dhabi and Dubai will take approximately one hour, while the journey from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah will take about an hour and a half. The trains will reach speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour and can carry up to 400 passengers at a time. Etihad Rail expects around 10 million passengers per year, demonstrating significant confidence in the demand for this new mode of transport.
Strategic Station Locations Across the Emirates
The stations will be located in areas that connect well with existing residential areas and infrastructure. In Abu Dhabi, the main station will be built in Mohamed bin Zayed City, a rapidly growing district that has expanded considerably in recent years. Dubai will have its station in Jumeirah Golf Estates, a well-known residential community in the south of the emirate. For Fujairah, Etihad Rail has chosen Sakamkam, near Al Hilal City on the east coast.
These locations have not been chosen at random. They are all situated in areas where many people live or work, and where connections with other forms of public transport already exist or are being developed. This brings us to a crucial part of the entire plan: how do you get to the station?
From Your Doorstep to the Train Station Without a Car
Etihad Rail has given careful thought to the so-called first and last mile problem. This is the distance between your home and the station, and between the station and your final destination. In a country where the car is king, you must ensure people can easily access the train stations. Therefore, Etihad Rail is collaborating with the metro, bus networks, taxi services, and ride-hailing apps like Yango.
The idea is that in the future, you will be able to travel from home to the station without your own car, take the train to your destination, and then continue your journey with local transport. For many commuters who currently travel daily between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, this could be an attractive alternative to motorway traffic jams. It is expected that the rail network will not only be faster but also more comfortable and potentially cheaper than daily car travel.
Etihad Rail has not yet announced an exact launch date for 2026. The final timetables are also still being developed, so the exact frequency of the trains is not yet known. However, it is already confirmed that there are plans for a separate high-speed line that will eventually travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai in just 30 minutes at speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour. No concrete timeline has been announced for that line yet.
For people who already travel daily between the emirates, this is good news in any case. The rail network can reduce pressure on the roads and offers an alternative for those tired of daily traffic jams. Whether it will actually be a success depends, of course, on the price, the frequency of the trains, and how smoothly the connections with other transport work. But the foundation seems solid, and 2026 is getting closer.
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