DUBAI- The UAE's Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the Gulf country's rail network, has signed an agreement with China's CRRC to triple its fleet of wagons to more than 1,000, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Twitter.

The UAE plans to have a rail network with 1,200 km (750 miles) of track, costing about $11 billion, running from the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.

"This will increase the transport capacity of the UAE's rail network by 8 times to 59 million tonness of goods annually," the Abu Dhabi Media Office said of the CRRC deal on Tuesday.

Etihad Rail is 70% owned by the Abu Dhabi government and 30% by the UAE federal government.

(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir Editing by David Goodman) ((Nafisa.Eltahir@thomsonreuters.com; +971 56 226 1754;))