UAE’s national railway network Etihad Rail has entered four memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with SNCF International, Alstom, and Progress Rail at the InnoTrans event in Berlin, Germany. The MoUs help to improve the UAE’s economic development by bolstering the growth of the rail sector and covering major areas such as rail operations and maintenance, service facilities, passenger stations, and cargo transportation, reported TradeArabia. Under the MoU, Etihad Rail and SNCF will work in the areas of railway operations, train maintenance and training sessions, design, development, and operation of rail projects in the UAE. Both the entities will also focus on the supply and maintenance of railway rolling stock, as well as on integration solutions between different modes of transport, station services, and facilities. Etihad Rail and Alstom will focus on the integration of advanced technologies and services in the railway sector.

The two entities will also work on the first and last-mile strategy, digitalisation of mobility, testing, and commissioning, operation, and maintenance, rolling stock configuration and facilities, and development of a learning ecosystem.

Etihad Rail and Thales will work in several areas, including on new generation rail control, European Train Control System (ETSC) Level 3, driver advisory system, intelligent traffic operation, asset management, and real-time passenger flow. They will also focus on data-driven operation control centre, video analytics, connectivity and passenger entertainment system, booking and ticketing system besides mobility and integration solutions between different modes of transport. Etihad Rail will work with Progress Rail on the development and implementation of an autonomous and zero-emissions port-to-port concept to act as the base for future rail operations across the globe. Etihad Rail passenger sector executive director Ahmed Al Musawa was quoted by the news publication as saying: “Our partners play a key role in supporting us to achieve our mission of developing and operating a rail network that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies, and provides safe, sustainable, and reliable solutions.”