Muscat: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sultanate of Oman on Wednesday, signed an agreement to establish a joint company to implement and operate a railway network that will link the two countries — and cut travel time to as short as 47 minutes.
The joint investment cost for the connection is about 1.16 billion Omani rials (3 billion dollars).
The agreement was signed by Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail, and Abdulrahman Salim Al Hatmi, group CEO of Asyad.
Passenger trains will connect Abu Dhabi with Sohar to the north of Muscat under the agreement between UAE’s Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, and Oman Rail, the Sultanate’s national developer and operator of railway networks.
The much-anticipated 303 kilometer railway will primarily link Sohar to Abu Dhabi and will feature the best international safety, security, and environmental standards, to provide faster and safer passenger and freight services.
The passenger trains are designed to reduce travel time from Sohar to Abu Dhabi to 100 minutes, and from Sohar to Al Ain to 47 minutes, travelling at a maximum speed of kilometre per hour. Meanwhile, the freight trains will run up to 120 kilometer per hour, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
UAE on Wednesday signed 16 joint cooperation agreements with the Sultanate of Oman, on the sidelines of a visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Sultanate.
According to the Oman News Agency (ONA), on Wednesday, the agreements included the signing of memoranda of understanding in the fields of energy, infrastructure, transport, communications, investment, food, financial markets and other areas of cooperation.
On Tuesday, September 27, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan began a two-day visit to Oman, during which he will meet Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.
This is the first visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to the Sultanate of Oman, since he took office on May 14.
The meeting is the second between the leaders of the two countries, after their first meeting in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, after the Sultan of Oman offered condolences on the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the late President of the Emirates on May 13, 2022.
