The debut of the Etihad Rail passenger service has already impacted lives in the UAE, with one Emirati worker claiming that the new system has reduced the weekly commute from being stressful to comfortable and productive. Abdulrahman Al Zaabi used to have to drive in excess of three hours to reach Abu Dhabi, then take a flight to get to his work at an offshore facility, but that is no longer the case. In other cases traffic jams, fogs and road accidents made it necessary for him to leave a day early to get on the flight. But everything changed on June 30 when Etihad Rail began running passenger services.
Al Zaabi was among those who first trained the first early morning train from Fujairah to Abu Dhabi. It was a mere 1 hour and 40 minutes make and he arrived at Mohamed bin Zayed City Station in advance of his 9 am flight from Al Bateen Executive Airport. Al Zaabi, commenting on the experience, said it took away the stress that had become a part of his job. However, instead of sitting behind the wheel for hours, he was able to relax, do his work with the notebook computer through the Wi-Fi and to enjoy the scenic drive before arriving at the workstation renewed.
The cost of hiring a taxi to the airport from the station was around Dh35, which isn’t too much, given how short the ride is anyway. The taxi fare from the station to the airport was under 35Dh, which isn’t that expensive compared to the cost of fuel to run across the country.
Faster Travel Across the UAE
The new passenger railway will link Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, providing a faster alternative to long-distance road travel, which will take about an hour and 45 minutes. Its passenger fleet is made up of 13 modern trains that can run at a maximum speed of 200 km/h, and hold about 400 passengers.
Fares start from Dh55 for Comfort Class and Dh120 for Premium Class, and can be booked online via the Etihad Rail website and mobile app. The railway was well received, with over 10,000 tickets sold on the first day.
More Time for Family
Al Zaabi considers the best part of their delivery to work to be less stressful as well as more convenient. But the best part of all is that he actually has more time to spend at home. The convenience of the shorter drive means he’s coming back home without the exhaustion of long drives, but instead having time to spend with his family for lunch and much quality time with his kids. He also believes the railway will have a positive impact on families travelling to get to their workplaces, the elderly travelling to hospitals and tourists visiting different emirates.
Future Expansion Planned
The passenger network will grow steadily in the next few months. The rest of the stations in Dubai and Al Dhaid will throw open their doors later this year, followed by stations in Al Dhafra and Sharjah in the next stage of the national railway project.
The 900-kilometre-long network, once completed, will connect 11 cities and towns across all 7 emirates, making rail transport an important feature of the UAE’s transportation network. Al Zaabi has already made his commuting plans for November and next week and is scheduled to book his future trips by train, which he says is one of the most useful transport initiatives introduced in the country.
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