A rendering of a train to be used on the UAE’s new passenger rail service. All Photos: Etihad Rail
A rendering of a train to be used on the UAE’s new passenger rail service. All Photos: Etihad Rail
Passenger cabins are spacious, allowing people to travel in comfort.
Passenger cabins are spacious, allowing people to travel in comfort.
The commercial benefits of moving cargo meant the initial focus was on freight.
The commercial benefits of moving cargo meant the initial focus was on freight.
Now the focus has turned to the passenger network.
Now the focus has turned to the passenger network.
The service will offer a reliable, safe, efficient, comfortable and environmentally friendly way to travel across the region.
The service will offer a reliable, safe, efficient, comfortable and environmentally friendly way to travel across the region.
Etihad Rail is working closely with the Federal Transport Authority and transport authorities throughout the country to develop existing networks to improve passenger connections.
Etihad Rail is working closely with the Federal Transport Authority and transport authorities throughout the country to develop existing networks to improve passenger connections.
Eventually, population centres across the UAE will be connected to neighbouring GCC countries.
Eventually, population centres across the UAE will be connected to neighbouring GCC countries.
Passenger carriages will feature sleek, well-equipped cabins.
Passenger carriages will feature sleek, well-equipped cabins.
Work on Etihad Rail began in 2009.
Work on Etihad Rail began in 2009.
Greenhouse gases will be slashed by more than 2.2 million tonnes a year once the network is fully operational.
Greenhouse gases will be slashed by more than 2.2 million tonnes a year once the network is fully operational.
The new passenger rail service is expected to significantly reduce road congestion and the number of traffic accidents.
The new passenger rail service is expected to significantly reduce road congestion and the number of traffic accidents.

UAE

Etihad Rail's Abu Dhabi-Dubai passenger trains will transform UAE, says eco-traveller

Campaigner who travelled from Netherlands to UAE by public transport looks forward to emirates-wide rail network

Patrick Ryan
Patrick Ryan

February 07, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Latest: Middle East megaprojects to usher in new era of public transport

The Dutch eco-traveller who travelled to Dubai from Amsterdam on public transport said there is an emerging trend of people seeking alternatives to planes for travel.

Wiebe Wakker, 35, who delivered a speech at the International Association of Public Transport regional congress in Dubai on Sunday, travelled to the UAE by rail, bus, and car to highlight sustainability issues.

Mr Wakker used the platform to urge more people to consider alternatives to travelling by plane.

"People want to ditch the plane as more are becoming interested in taking trains and other forms of public transport," Mr Wakker said.

It’s important to live a life with a low-carbon footprint
Wiebe Wakker

“If you travel by plane it changes your day; if you travel by train it changes your life.

“It’s important to live a life with a low-carbon footprint.”

He praised Etihad Rail’s passenger train project that will transport passengers across the Emirates, and eventually connect with other countries in the region.

“It’s great news for everyone as it will connect people in countries all across the GCC,” said Mr Wakker.

“It will also reduce the need for people to use cars, which is, in turn, good news for sustainability.”

Wiebe Wakker said passenger trains for the UAE and wider Gulf has the potential to transform public transport. Photo: Wiebe Wakker
Wiebe Wakker said passenger trains for the UAE and wider Gulf has the potential to transform public transport. Photo: Wiebe Wakker

The Dutchman made headlines in 2019 when he completed a 100,000-kilometre journey from his home country to New Zealand, making the entire three-year trip in his electric car.

He was originally invited to speak at the Dutch pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai on the back of his globetrotting exploits and decided to make a similar eco-journey from the Netherlands to the Emirates.

The event at Expo was cancelled at the last minute due to the rise in Covid-19 cases brought about by the Omicron variant, but he did get to speak at the World Future Energy Summit, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

“It didn’t make sense to take a plane to travel halfway around the world to talk about the value of sustainable travel,” he said.

“I couldn’t take my car again because it’s now a museum piece after the first journey.

“The only logical option was to take the train.”

However, his plan to complete the journey using public ground transport alone was hit by problems at the Iranian border, which was closed at the time to all but cargo transport.

Mr Wakker was forced to rethink his plan and took a flight from Erbil to Amman instead.

He completed his journey to Abu Dhabi by taking a 856-km bus journey from Amman to Hail, following by a train from Hail to Riyadh. The final leg was a 906-km bus trip to the UAE capital.

Despite the flight, his carbon dioxide footprint was 60 per cent less than travelling direct from Amsterdam to Dubai.

He said the decision to travel mostly by land was one of the best he has ever made.

“I wasn’t sure because I thought it might be boring sitting on a train for days on end,” he said.

“I was wrong because it was an amazing experience to see the changes in the scenery.

Read More

Iran border hitch forces Dutch eco-traveller to change UAE plans

Non-flying Dutchman travels to Dubai by land and sea in the name of eco-tourism

“I went from travelling through big cities in the Netherlands and Germany to going through snow in Austria and then being in the desert. It was surreal to do all that in one journey — it never would have happened if I just took a plane.”

Mr Wakker was grateful to be able to address the audience at the conference, especially because of the challenges he had faced along the way.

“I was really sad when I got the call the event at Expo was cancelled because that’s why I was travelling,” he said.

“I was delighted that my story had been noticed by the organisers of the transport congress who invited me to speak at the event today.”

Etihad Rail builds Abu Dhabi-Dubai track: in pictures

Railroad workers preparing tracks at a depot in January 2022. There has been rapid progress on a new line that will eventually carry passengers. All photos: Victor Besa / The National
Railroad workers preparing tracks at a depot in January 2022. There has been rapid progress on a new line that will eventually carry passengers. All photos: Victor Besa / The National
The new Etihad Rail line will connect 11 cities and areas across the UAE from Al Sila in the west to Fujairah in the north.
The new Etihad Rail line will connect 11 cities and areas across the UAE from Al Sila in the west to Fujairah in the north.
Work on the railway at Saih Shuaib.
Work on the railway at Saih Shuaib.
Etihad Rail workers on a railroad overpass along the E77 and E611 highway junction in Dubai.
Etihad Rail workers on a railroad overpass along the E77 and E611 highway junction in Dubai.
The overpass view along the E77 and E611 highway junction.
The overpass view along the E77 and E611 highway junction.
Etihad Rail says stations will celebrate the joy of travelling and designs will speak to regional traditions.
Etihad Rail says stations will celebrate the joy of travelling and designs will speak to regional traditions.
Some of the new stations will be built in the cities but the locations have not been yet announced.
Some of the new stations will be built in the cities but the locations have not been yet announced.
The Abu Dhabi to Dubai line is central to the project.
The Abu Dhabi to Dubai line is central to the project.
The train driver takes the diesel inspection line down the tracks.
The train driver takes the diesel inspection line down the tracks.
The Abu Dhabi to Dubai section of the track runs parallel to the Emirates Road (E611) motorway.
The Abu Dhabi to Dubai section of the track runs parallel to the Emirates Road (E611) motorway.
Newly laid tracks at the Dubai South area.
Newly laid tracks at the Dubai South area.
Railroad workers preparing tracks.
Railroad workers preparing tracks.
An Etihad Rail worker on the Abu Dhabi to Dubai line.
An Etihad Rail worker on the Abu Dhabi to Dubai line.
An Etihad Rail depot at Saih Shuaib.
An Etihad Rail depot at Saih Shuaib.
Passengers will also be able to use park and rides.
Passengers will also be able to use park and rides.
Passengers can expect travel time of 50 minutes between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and about 100 minutes from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah.
Passengers can expect travel time of 50 minutes between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and about 100 minutes from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah.
Construction of the UAE-wide network is advancing rapidly with close to 70 per cent of the twin-track route complete.
Construction of the UAE-wide network is advancing rapidly with close to 70 per cent of the twin-track route complete.
The addition of the passenger rail service marked an important moment for Etihad Rail since its establishment in 2009.
The addition of the passenger rail service marked an important moment for Etihad Rail since its establishment in 2009.
The rail track snakes through the desert.
The rail track snakes through the desert.
An Etihad Rail employee on the inspection line.
An Etihad Rail employee on the inspection line.
Three Etihad Rail workers take a rest, with the inspection train on right.
Three Etihad Rail workers take a rest, with the inspection train on right.
Stage two of the project joins Ghuweifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah on the east coast in a line running for about 1,200km.
Stage two of the project joins Ghuweifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah on the east coast in a line running for about 1,200km.
The passenger service is expected to carry more than 36 million passengers annually by the end of the decade.
The passenger service is expected to carry more than 36 million passengers annually by the end of the decade.
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Ajman – Call 067401616

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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
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In Dubai:

Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro

Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle. 
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle

In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches 

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Updated: February 08, 2022, 3:59 AM`