Etihad Rail has awarded Hitachi Rail a $432m (AED1.6 billion) power systems and integration contract on the second stage of the UAE’s national rail network.
The Japanese company will be responsible for delivering an 800km network of power distribution and electronics subsystems, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported.Â
The Etihad Rail network is planned eventually to be part of a rail system that spans the Gulf Cooperation Council. This will use the European signalling system to ensure interoperability.
The second stage work will link Khalifa Port, Khalifa Industrial City and Jebel Ali Port. The project will be part of the backbone of the UAE national railway network, which is intended to upgrade the emirates’ transport and shipping industry by connecting ports, factories and cities.
The award follows the decision, announced in June, to place a $1.2bn contract for civil and rail engineering to the China Railway Construction Corporation and Abu Dhabi based infrastructure company Ghantoot Transport & General Contracting.
In March, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and South Korean firm SK Engineering received a $410m deal to link railway lines at Al Ruwais, 240km west of Abu Dhabi,with Al Ghuwaifat on the Saudi Arabian border.
Image: The first phase of the UAE’s rail network links the Shah gas field with the port and refinery of Ruwais (Etihad Rail)
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