DHL Express aims to transport shipments from the UAE to Saudi Arabia on an ambitious new railnetwork to improve transit times and reduce CO2 emissions, although the first rail services to the
border will not run for several years yet.The company has signed an agreement with Etihad Rail to use the UAE’s new billion-dollar,1,200km rail network which the state agency is currently developing and building. The UAE sees therailway as a vital part of its logistics hub strategy.
The new railway would carry initially freight and later passengers between the main centres ofthe emirates and form a core part of a planned $30 billion rail network linking the six countriesof the Gulf Cooperation Council with an integrated 2,200km network stretching from Kuwait via SaudiArabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE to Oman by 2018.
Construction of the first UAE stretch of track from inland towns to the port of Ruwais startedearlier this year and freight trains are due to start operating next year. Work on the secondphase, covering 137km from Ruwais to Ghweifat on the UAE-Saudi border, is scheduled to commencenext year with the first trains running in 2017/18.
The key long-term future route will be from Dubai’s Jebel Ali port zone to Ghweifat and onwardsto destinations in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. DP World will develop an intermodal railterminal at Jebel Ali port to enable containerized sea freight to be transferred to freight trainswhile there will be connections to the new Dubai World Central airport.
Under the MoU, DHL has committed itself to using the rail network as soon as the second stage isoperational, benefiting above all from the rail connections between Jebel Ali and Ghweifat.
DHL said one Etihad Rail train is expected to remove up to 300 trucks from the UAE’s roads.Apart from reducing congestion in and around Dubai, rail services can avoid the long border delaysthat often impact road haulage from Dubai to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, a fully loaded train generates70-80% fewer CO2 emissions than the trucks required to transport the same tonnage, according to therail operator.
Frank-Uwe Ungerer, country manager for DHL Express in the UAE, said: “We are delighted to be thefirst logistics company to collaborate with Etihad Rail. This is a new and innovative milestone forDHL in the UAE, which will enable us to further enhance our competitive logistical performance anddevelop our cross-border services, in order to meet our customers growing logistical needs.
“The fact that this move will also help make a real difference to the local environment isanother great bonus, and reflects Go Green, our global programme for environmental protection. Thisis part of our wider organisational strategy to operate responsibly in our local communities.”
Dr Hazem Mobarak, acting CEO of Etihad Rail, added: “The Etihad Rail project will provide asafe, cost-effective and more environmentally friendly mode of transport, bringing considerablebenefits to businesses in their operations. We are very proud to be partnering with DHL, one of theworld’s leading logistics companies, to create a more efficient and environmentally friendlybusiness solution for them in the UAE.”
