UAE: Etihad Rail and Abu Dhabi’s Emergency, Crisis & Disaster Management Centre organised special passenger trains to facilitate the return of UAE citizens and residents from Saudi Arabia while flights are grounded because of the ongoing war in Iran.
Three trains on March 3 carried more than 350 passengers from Ghuweifat on the Saudi border to Al Faya station in Abu Dhabi.
مسؤولون ومسافرون وعائلاتهم على متن الرحلة بين محطة الغويفات في الظفرة ومحطة الفاية في مدينة أبوظبي يتحدثون عن التشغيل الاستثنائي لقطار الركاب، الذي يسهم في تكامل منظومة التنقل في الدولة. pic.twitter.com/q4oMUzTIWu
— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) March 3, 2026
Etihad Rail is currently undertaking trial operations ahead of the planned start later this year of commercial passenger services between Mohamed Bin Zayed City in Abu Dhabu, Dubai and Al Hilal City in Fujairah.
‘The operation of the passenger service prior to its official launch demonstrates a high degree of institutional flexibility, based on the effective redeployment of available capabilities to address societal priorities, without compromising long-term operational plans or the UAE’s logistical security’, said ADCMC Director General Matar Saeed Al Nuaimi. ‘It confirms the national ecosystem’s capacity to take timely and well-considered operational decisions, grounded in real-time risk assessments in light of current circumstances.’
Mohammed Al Shehhi, Chief Projects Officer at Etihad Rail, said the operator was ’proud to operate these passenger services as an exceptional response to the current regional situation and in line with the directives of our leadership to strengthen national efforts aimed at ensuring the stability of nationals and residents in the UAE. This step reflects the technical and operational readiness of the national railway network, the flexibility of its operating systems and the competence of the national workforce, which delivered the services with a high degree of efficiency and adaptability, without affecting other logistical operations across the network.’
He added that the special passenger operations would ’continue as required, in close co-ordination with the competent authorities, until air traffic resumes and flights return to their regular schedules’.
