Etihad Rail said its new nationwide rail safety campaign was a “significant step” forward before the planned launch of passenger services later this year.
The drive, launched this week, aims to raise awareness of safe behaviour around the railway such as warning passengers to stay clear of the tracks.
The UAE campaign will be rolled out over the next few weeks with a series of initial adverts released by Etihad Rail including another cautioning people to stand back from the platform edge.
Similar campaigns operate globally with perhaps the most well-known being “mind the gap” – a phrase to warn passengers about the space between the train and platform edge. The phrase was first introduced on the London Underground in the UK.
Etihad Rail’s campaign will be rolled out across the UAE in the coming weeks including engagement with schools, local communities and others.
“Safety sits at the heart of everything we do at Etihad Rail,” said Adhraa Almansoori, director of public policy and sustainability. “As we prepare to introduce passenger services across the UAE, it is essential that we build awareness and understanding of how to engage safely with the railway.
“This campaign is about building a culture of care and shared responsibility, ensuring that our communities, our passengers and our employees all play a role in maintaining the highest safety standards.”
It comes as preparations to launch the UAE’s first passenger railway network enter the final stages.
The first services will connect Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah and Etihad Rail last week announced the Fujairah station was the first on the network to be fully completed.
Final work is taking place at the Abu Dhabi station in Mohamed bin Zayed City and the Dubai terminal at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Key information such the precise launch date, ticket prices and timetables have yet to be released but Etihad Rail previously said trains will be frequent and that passengers can expect travel times of about an hour between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and 90 minutes between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. Exact travel times are also being worked out.
The wider Etihad Rail passenger network will eventually stretch across the country with 11 stations announced so far.
It is not yet clear when all these will open but Etihad Rail previously said they will become “operational in phases”.
Rail is widely recognised as one of the safest modes of transport globally. Data from the European Commission and cited by the International Railway Safety Council suggested the risk of death for a train passenger within the EU is about 0.09 fatalities per billion train kilometres, nearly one third that for bus and coach passengers and about 28 times less than for car occupants.
Etihad Rail said its network has been developed in line with global best practices.
