Thursday, January 27, 2022

Etihad Rail. The future of the United Arab Emirates – with simulators

In recent years, we have witnessed a new revival of the railways. Investments are multiplying and the need for a safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly means of transport promises to make the 21st century a time for the resurgence of trains. 

This is especially evident in countries without a history of railway infrastructure, such as the United Arab Emirates. The example of the Emirates is unique: a young country, supported by a strong economy and led by people with a clear long-term vision, a blank canvas on which to draw and an opportunity to design a new national model from scratch.

As part of this design, the country has benefited from the presence of a company with an outstanding track record of tireless work to provide the Emirates with a multidisciplinary railway network that would serve as a benchmark for the rest of the region. This company is none other than Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, which makes steady progress in this task, without unnecessary haste and takes the right steps at the right time. More than 10 years ago, Etihad Rail began to draw up an ambitious plan in several stages with the aim of equipping the Emirates with a rail network for freight and passengers. The year 2016 saw the beginning of operations for Stage One of the project, a network covering 264 kilometres and run by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) locomotives. Stage One connects the Shah and Habshan gas fields with the port of Ruwais, where granulated sulphide is processed for export. Etihad Rail is currently immersed in the construction of Stage Two, which will add another 605 kilometres to the network and for which the fleet of locomotives will be expanded to 45.

For a number of years, the Etihad Rail vision of the future has included the idea of having driving simulators, with two objectives. The first and most obvious objective is to train the drivers to achieve a level of excellence in operation; and the second is to possess a powerful marketing tool to show the Middle East what the future of transport will be like in the Emirates based on the work that Etihad Rail has been carrying out over the years. For this reason, in mid-2021 Etihad Rail put out a tender for the provision of two simulation classrooms: the first for installation in the Mirfa depot and the second for installation in a 40-foot trailer that will travel the length and breadth of the Emirates and the rest of the region, to present the future of transport in the Emirates to the world.

LANDER has had the good fortune to be selected as the suppliers for this ambitious new project. This has all been possible because of the trust that Etihad Rail has placed in our team and the tireless work of our partners in the Emirates, United Trans and VRT, over the years.

We want to thank everyone for their support and confidence in LANDER. Starting today, we will work tirelessly on a project that we are sure will allow Etihad Rail to continue its steadfast path in shaping the future of the United Arab Emirates with a rail infrastructure that provides a benchmark for the Middle East.