The deep participation of Chinese enterprises will not only help the UAE achieve its 2030 opening target, but also promote the overall breakthrough of China's high-speed rail industry chain in overseas markets, demonstrating the hard core strength of Chinese manufacturing. This marks that China's high-speed railway technical standards and construction capacity have been highly recognized at key nodes along the "the Belt and Road"

Bid details

According to the authoritative media MEED in the field of Middle East engineering construction, the civil engineering and station design and construction (DB) contract for the first phase of the UAE high-speed rail network project - Abu Dhabi to Dubai high-speed rail project has been officially awarded, with a total investment of over 8 billion US dollars.

The project is divided into two major sections: the Abu Dhabi section is constructed by a consortium led by UAE NPC and participated by China State Construction Engineering Corporation; The Dubai segment is led by a consortium led by L&T India and participated by China Harbour. The consortium of China Railway Group, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, and China Civil Engineering Group, which participated in the bidding earlier, failed to win the bid.

Project Planning

The Abu Dhabi Dubai high-speed railway is designed for a speed of 350 kilometers per hour and operates at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour, using fully electric propulsion. The total length of the line is about 150 kilometers, divided into four sections: Section 1A from Zahiye District to Yas Island (23.5 kilometers), Section 1B from Yas Island to Adi border (64.2 kilometers), Section 1C border to Jadaf (52.1 kilometers), and Section 1D Abu Dhabi Airport Triangle Connection Line (9.2 kilometers). There are a total of 5 passenger stations along the entire line, including 3 underground stations, 1 elevated station, and 1 ground station.

The project will be implemented in four phases as a whole:

Phase 1: Construction of the Abu Dhabi Dubai mainline, planned to open by 2030;

Phase II: Abu Dhabi city line with 10 stations;

Phase III: Abu Dhabi to Ain Passage;

Phase Four: Dubai to Sharjah Cross Emirate Connection Line.

After completion, the project will complement the existing conventional passenger railway of Etihad Railway Company, forming an integrated railway network covering major cities and regions in the United Arab Emirates.

In addition to civil engineering and station construction, the project also includes the procurement of high-speed trains, communication signals, power supply systems, and the construction of two comprehensive maintenance bases. Sener and Ineco from Spain serve as engineering consultants. At present, international companies such as Siemens Mobility from Germany, Hitachi from Japan, Alstom from France, CRRC from China, Hyundai Rotem from South Korea, Talgo from Spain, and CAF are participating in the competition for high-speed rail systems and vehicle equipment sections.Editor/Yang Meiling