PROJECTS: Etihad Rail completes 50% of the UAE national railway's first marine rail bridge

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, announced on Monday the completion of 50 percent of the construction works of a marine rail bridge, the network's first, which will connect Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port to the federal railway.

 

The state-owned company said in a press statement that the one-kilometre-long marine bridge forms part of Package B of Stage Two of the railway project.

 

The statement said the marine bridge required 18,300 cubic metres of reinforced concrete and 4,117 tonnes of steel, and would be parallel to an existing road bridge, which spans the same length, and connects the Abu Dhabi mainland to the offshore container terminal area.

 

The statement noted that the extensions and the rubble of the new marine bridge is aligned with the existing bridge, so as to not disturb the flow of water, which is an important factor for preserving the coral reefs surrounding the bridge.

 

Last month, Etihad Rail had announced the completion of construction works for Package A of Stage Two, which extends over 139 km from Ruwais in Abu Dhabi to Al Ghuweifat on the UAE-Saudi Arabia border, and also connects Stage Two to Stage One, which extends for 264 km from Habshan to Al Ruwais.

 

(Writing by N Madhura; Editing by Anoop Menon)