Tuesday, Oct 06, 2015
Dubai: The legislation of a new federal law outlining how the UAE will govern railways in the country has been delayed until next year, the country’s regulator said on Tuesday.
The law, which will determine how metro systems and national railways will be regulated, was to be drafted and approved by the federal cabinet this year. No reason was given as to why it will be delayed until 2016.
“It’s almost done but it takes time,” Federal Transport Authority Director General Salem Ali Al Zaabi told reporters at a regional rail conference in Dubai.
The Federal Transport Authority, formerly the National Transport Authority, was established in 2006 to regulate land and maritime transport in the country. The authority has temporary permission from the federal government to regulate the UAE’s rail sector until the new law is legislated, which Al Zaabi said is “almost finished.”
The law will include the regulation of railway finance; railway, operator and train drive licenses, maintenance permits and safety matters.
The UAE is building a 1,200-kilometre rail networking connecting all seven emirates and the country with Saudi Arabia and Oman that is scheduled to be complete by 2018.
By Alexander Cornwell Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2015. All rights reserved.
