Etihad Rail facilitates sulfur transport

Etihad Rail, the UAE's $11 billion national railway network developer and operator, transported more than 5.24 million tons of granulated sulfur in the first 18 months of stage one operations for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), from sources at Shah and Habshan to its point of export at Ruwais.
Equivalent to more than 330,000 truck trips, the transport of granulated sulfur is the workhorse of Etihad Rail’s stage one, which received approval for commercial operations from the Federal Transport Authority’s (FTA) Land and Maritime in December 2015.
Two trains depart daily under the current timetable, each carrying 11,000 tons of granulated sulfur and capable of reaching a top-speed of 120 km per hour.
Etihad Rail is the country’s latest and most robust facilitator of sulfur movement, which is rapidly growing as an integral part of the UAE economy.
“Surpassing the 5.24-million-ton mark with the transport of granulated sulfur is a significant milestone for Etihad Rail and stands as an emblem of our unwavering commitment to facilitating economic connectivity across Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” said Faris Saif Al-Mazrouei, CEO, Etihad Rail.
“Stage one’s continued progress is a testament to the strength of the partnership between Etihad Rail and ADNOC, who are committed to the UAE’s continued economic diversification and stand aligned with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and UAE Vision 2021,” Al-Mazrouei added.
Stretching a distance of 264-kilometres, Stage One links the sulfur sources of Shah and Habshan to the export point of Ruwais via the Mirfa depot, which was recently awarded the Estidama 2 Pearl Construction Rating by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) for its seven sustainable buildings. Stage One utilizes seven state-of-the-art locomotives from US-based Electro-Motive Diesel, with wagons supplied by China’s CSR Corporation.
The multibillion dollar integrated rail network project will span approximately 1,200 km.