Germany’s Vossloh wins Etihad Rail contract for phase two
Vossloh will supply turnouts and sleeper sets for the 139 km long new stretch that will link Ruwais with Saudi Arabia’s Ghuweifat region
Vossloh has announced that it has won a contract to supply rail fasteners and turnouts for Package 2A of the UAE’s integrated railway network that will link Ruwais with Saudi Arabia’s Ghuweifat region. The contract was awarded by a joint venture between China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction.
Under the terms of the contract, Vossloh will supply a total of 38 turnouts and 495,000 sleeper sets of the rail fastening system W 30 HH for the 139 km long new stretch by the end of October. The specifications of the future integrated Etihad Rail network with mixed-use traffic have already been taken into account, Vossloh said in a statement.
The line is rated for a maximum load of 32.5 tonnes and speeds of up to 160 km in freight traffic and up to 200 km in passenger traffic so the desired cross-border interoperability will also be ensured, the company added.
Phase two will extend 605 from Ghuweifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah on the east coast of the UAE, while the standard gauge and double-track network of the railway will be constructed in five phases due to its dimension. The first stage of the second phase of expansion (Package 2A) will link Ruwais with Ghuweifat at the border between the UAE and Saudi-Arabia.
This follows the successful completion of phase one covering the 264-km-long freight line operated by Etihad Rail between the gas fields at Shah and Habshan and the port and industrial city Ruwais in Abu Dhabi.
The German company added that after the completion of all stages, the volume of goods transported across the network will increase from the current seven million tonnes to more than fifty million tonnes per year.
