On the southern coast of the Persian Gulf, on the scorching Gobi Desert, the roar of heavy drilling rigs shattered the long silence. With the official declaration of Türkiye contractor Kalyon, the Abu Dhabi section of the first high-speed railway in the history of the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Dubai high-speed railway, has officially entered the substantive construction stage. This is not just the construction of a railway, but also a key milestone for this Gulf country to reshape its economic geography in the 'post oil era'.

Multinational powerhouse gathers

The Abu Dhabi section that started construction this time has a total length of 96.9 kilometers and a huge project volume. The consortium led by Kalyon of Türkiye will challenge difficult operations here, not only laying tracks, but also digging a double hole tunnel with a length of 11.2 kilometers, and building four modern stations. In this international construction team, the presence of Chinese architecture is particularly eye-catching. At the same time, NPC and Trojan Tunnelling companies in the UAE are responsible for tackling underground projects, while Jacobs from the United States on the other side of the ocean takes on the design responsibility. This collaborative model of multinational forces reflects the deep integration of the global infrastructure industry chain.

Competing for the Golden Channel

As a leading project in the UAE railway network, this high-speed railway line with a total length of approximately 150 kilometers is owned by Etihad Railway Company. Previously, the international engineering community paid high attention to this project, and giants such as China Railway Group and China Civil Engineering Corporation fiercely competed for it. In the end, the consortium of China Harbour won the construction rights for the Dubai section, while China State Construction Corporation (CSCEC) delved deeper into the Abu Dhabi section. The designed speed of the entire line is up to 350 kilometers per hour, and the maximum operating speed of the train is 320 kilometers per hour, using full electric drive. After completion, the travel time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be significantly reduced from the current 1.5 hours to 30 minutes, greatly compressing the time and space distance between the two emirates.

The blueprint slowly unfolds

The construction of high-speed rail is just the prelude. In addition to civil engineering and station construction, the competition for train procurement, communication signal and power supply system construction in the project is also fierce. CRRC China will face challenges from international giants such as Alstom in France, Siemens in Germany, Hitachi in Japan, and Hyundai Rotem in South Korea. In addition, the ambitions of the United Arab Emirates are not limited to this. The project has planned a grand four phase blueprint: the first phase connects Abu Dhabi and Dubai; Phase II: Encrypt the road network within Abu Dhabi city; Extension of Phase III to Ain; The fourth phase will ultimately achieve cross-border connectivity between Dubai and Sharjah. This steel artery is carrying the grand dream of building a modern comprehensive transportation system in the United Arab Emirates, slowly heading towards the future.Editor/Yang Meiling