Major rail event in Abu Dhabi set to attract 20,000 visitors

Global Rail will feature Dh1m innovation grant for transport solutions

Etihad Rail, which is hosting the conference, is to launch passenger services in 2026. Wam

A major international railway conference returns to Abu Dhabi this month, hosted by Etihad Rail.

The three-day Global Rail Transport Infrastructure Exhibition and Conference event is set to draw 20,000 visitors from across the globe, along with 200 speakers, 20 ministerial delegations and more than 200 companies from across the world, organisers said.

The conference, running from September 30 to October 2, aims to reflect on how railways can bolster logistics, improve sustainability and enhance trade.

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The event also includes a Dh1 million ($272,250) innovation grant for solutions to transform the future of transport.

The conference comes as the UAE is eagerly anticipating the launch of Etihad Rail’s passenger service in 2026.

Ahmed Al Hashemi, chief executive of Hafeet Rail and chairman of the executive committee of Global Rail conference, at the launch on Wednesday. Victor Besa / The National

It also comes as the Hafeet Rail project – the joint passenger and freight railway network connecting the UAE and Oman – continues to advance.

“This year we've seen a huge increase in the number of participants,” Ahmed Al Hashemi, chief executive of Hafeet Rail and chairman of the conference’s executive committee, told The National on Wednesday at the event's launch.

“The exhibition will also feature many of the solutions that the industry has developed ... and we will showcase the future [of rail].”

Hafeet Rail is a megaproject that will link up the UAE and Oman, and while a launch date has not been revealed, construction is well under way with the company last week showing train tracks arriving at the Omani port of Sohar.

Mr Al Hashemi said the operator would outline some of the "very ambitious" plans of the project at the conference.

“We will present the progress of the project … and we will talk ... about how we envisage the cross-border movement of trains between the two countries.”

Mr Al Hashemi said contracts to deliver the project have been awarded and precise work was ongoing to ensure the railway would integrate with ports, economic zones and the industrial hubs.

“It will set an example of how such projects are delivered and how they can be very beneficial to the connecting countries.

"You can take the load of 300 trucks in one train,” he said. "And [Abu Dhabi] to Sohar will take only one hour and 40 minutes.

“So it is a very considerable reduction in travel time. It brings a lot of savings to the transport cost and it comes with a greater level of comfort compared to any other way to move across the border.”

The conference is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court.

“The countdown has begun,” said Salman Abou Hamzeh, senior vice president for energy at DMG events, which is organising the event.

"Whether you are a policymaker, an investor, an innovator or simply someone curious about rail’s role in reimagining our future, Abu Dhabi is where it all begins.”