French firm Egis has been awarded a project management consultancy contract for the development of the UAE’s railway network.
The company said in a statement that it will assist Etihad Rail, tasked with developing and operating the network, in developing stages 2 and 3.
The existing and currently operated network of 264km will be expanded between now and 2024 by over 600km in stage 2 and 250km in stage 3, it added.
The UAE network is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) rail network and aims to play a key role in the ongoing growth of conventional rail in the Middle East region.
Egis said it will work in close cooperation with Etihad Rail, with its team joining the project ownership team to oversee and supervise the different project contributors, the statement said.
The rail network is a combination of freight and passenger lines which extends over 1,000km and has nearly 40 railway facilities – logistics sites for freight, passenger stations, stabling and maintenance depots.
On completion in 2024, the network will link Saudi Arabia to the UAE and Oman.
Egis said: “The growth and dynamics of the Emirates generate major changes in infrastructure. The Etihad Rail PMC contract is part of the strategy to further develop in the Middle East and more particularly in the United Arab Emirates.”
This is the Egis’s third major guided transportation project in the region, the other two being the Qatar metro and an autonomous transportation system in Dubai.
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