Engineering consultancy contract for UAE Oman railway awarded

Hafeet Rail, the company responsible for developing and operating the Oman UAE rail network, has announced the appointment of the French company Systra to provide engineering consultancy for the project to link Sohar Port in Oman with the UAE national railway network.

The project will cost around $2.5 billion (around 960 million Omani rials).

Hafeet Rail (formerly Oman and Etihad Rail Company) has previously awarded the civil works contracts to an Omani Emirati consortium led by Trojan Group and Galfar Engineering, while a consortium between Siemens and Hassan Allam won the systems contracts.  Hafeet Rail has also signed banking agreements worth 577 million Omani rials with local, regional and international banks, and financial institutions.

The Oman UAE railway project represents a key step in developing a unified transport and logistics network, offering economic and social benefits to both countries.

The network will connect five ports and industrial zones in the two countries. Each train journey across the network is expected to transport more than 15,000 tonnes of goods, equivalent to about 270 standard containers. The journey time between Abu Dhabi and Sohar will be reduced to 100 minutes, with freight trains reaching a maximum speed of 120 km/h.

Passenger trains will reach up to 200 km/h, accommodating up to 400 passengers per train. The railway sill stretch over  238 kilometers and will include 60 bridges and tunnels covering a distance of 2.5 kilometers.

This project represents a strategic step in building trade between Oman and the UAE and aligns with Oman Vision 2040 and the UAE Centennial 2071.

Connecting Sohar Port to the UAE railway network will create a vital trade artery between the two countries, enhancing the region's status as a hub for transport and logistics services.