Rail freight resilience for the United Arab Emirates is keeping the country’s domestic cargo moving at a time when ports like Jebel Ali, the largest hub for ocean cargo in the Persian Gulf, remains under operational duress because of the Middle East war.
UAE daily newspaper, Al Etihad, has reported that, as of March 9-10, Etihad Rail Freight has run more than 100 trips, moving about 459 000 tonnes of cargo and more than 7 900 containers in nine days.
The stepped-up rail freight response to the UAE’s current supply chain challenges, enabled the linking of key industrial zones, ports and logistics hubs, despite current port risks.
Al Etihad reports that the state-owned entity activated extra rail corridors and redeployed intermodal capacity to East Coast ports like Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.
Expansion include five additional services to Al Ghail Dry Port in the Ras Al-Khaimah emirate north of Dubai.
Omar Alsebeyi, CEO of Etihad Rail Freight, said: “The UAE’s national railway network was built to strengthen the resilience and reliability of the country’s logistics and supply chain ecosystem.”
He added that rail freight “continues to play an important role in keeping goods moving across the UAE, ensuring businesses can rely on safe, efficient and dependable transport connectivity”.
“Our teams remain fully mobilised and closely aligned with national authorities to ensure the continuity of freight services that support the UAE’s economy.”
