JEDDAH: Etihad Rail -- the master developer and operator of the UAE's national railway network -- has appointed China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited (CSR) to supply 240 covered wagons for the carriage of granulated sulfur in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.
With contracts also recently announced for the railway sleepers and locomotives, this rolling stock award represents another major step forward in the plans to deliver the first stage of the network by the end of 2014.
Etihad Rail is working in partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to construct the 266km route that will transport up to 22,000 tons of granulated sulfur daily from sources in Shah and Habshan for export in Ruwais.
A leading company in the realm of rail transportation, CSR will provide covered wagons ideal for carrying the sulfur in a safe and efficient manner.
Construction on the first phase of the network is scheduled to commence at the end of this year with the first freight trains scheduled to be on the tracks by 2013.
Etihad Rail CEO Richard Bowker said the latest deal "sees another important element of the first stage of the network in place".
Etihad Rail's AED40 billion railway project is forecast -- over the next two decades -- to grow to transport up to 50 million tons of freight and 16 million passengers per annum, connecting population centers and opening up channels for trade.
When complete, the UAE-wide network will change the way people and goods move across the Emirates, by providing a modern, safe, efficient, and environmentally sustainable method of transport, and will form a vital part of the wider GCC Railway network.
© Arab News 2011
