Turkish construction firm Kalyon Inşaat has started work on the Abu Dhabi section of the UAE's first high-speed railway project.
Key facts
- •The project is part of Etihad Rail's $13 billion plan to develop a 900-kilometer national passenger network.
- •The high-speed line will span approximately 150 kilometers in total.
- •Trains on the new line will reach speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour.
- •The project will cut the travel time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to 30 minutes.
- •Kalyon Inşaat is leveraging experience from large-scale infrastructure projects in Türkiye and globally.
Turkish construction company Kalyon Inşaat announced Thursday that it has commenced work on the United Arab Emirates' first high-speed railway. The firm is part of an international consortium tasked with building the Abu Dhabi section of the project, which is being developed by Etihad Rail as part of a broader $13 billion national network expansion.
By the numbers
Project Scope and Consortium
Kalyon Inşaat is working alongside UAE-based National Projects and Construction and Trojan Tunneling, as well as the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). The Abu Dhabi segment of the high-speed line covers approximately 97 kilometers of track and includes the construction of four stations. A key engineering feature of the route is an 11.2-kilometer twin-tube tunnel.
Performance and Impact
The new railway is designed to operate at speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour, significantly faster than the country's existing rail lines, which operate at approximately 200 km/h. Once operational, the 150-kilometer line is expected to reduce travel time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai from 90 minutes to 30 minutes. Murathan Kalyoncu, chair of the board at Kalyon Inşaat, stated that the project serves as a strategic investment for the UAE and a milestone in global railway engineering.
Advertisement
This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Daily Sabah.
