The UAE’s Etihad Rail has awarded multibillion-dollar design-and-build contracts for the civil works and station packages of the high-speed railway (HSR) line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The contract for the construction of the Abu Dhabi side of the railway was awarded to a consortium comprising Abu Dhabi’s National Projects Construction (NPC), Trojan Tunnelling, Turkiye’s Kalyon and Beijing-headquartered China State Construction Engineering Corporation.

The other deal, comprising the construction of the Dubai side of the railway, was awarded to a consortium comprising India’s Larsen & Toubro, Beijing-based China Harbour Engineering Company and local firm Wade Adams.

MEED understands that the whole scheme is worth about $6.5bn.

US-based Jacobs is the designer for the NPC group.

French engineering firm Egis and Singapore’s Surbana Jurong are the designers for the L&T-led consortium.

Last month, MEED exclusively reported that Etihad Rail is preparing to award the contracts for the high-speed railway.

The design speed of the trains running on the UAE’s HSR network will be 350 kilometres an hour (km/h), and the operating speed will be 320km/h, as MEED reported last year.

The proposed HSR programme will be constructed in four phases, gradually adding further connectivity to other areas within the UAE.

The first phase involves constructing a railway line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which is expected to be operational by 2030.

The second phase will develop an inner‑city railway network with 10 stations within the city of Abu Dhabi.

The third phase of the railway network involves constructing a connection between Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain.

The fourth phase involves developing an inter-emirate connection between Dubai and Sharjah.

The 150km first phase of the HSR will stretch from the Al-Zahiyah area of Abu Dhabi to Al-Jaddaf in Dubai.

The project’s civil works have been split into two packages – Abu Dhabi and Dubai – comprising four sections. The scope of these sections includes:

• Phase 1A: Al-Zahiyah to Yas Island (23.5km) 
• Phase 1B: Yas Island to the border of Abu Dhabi/Dubai (64.2km)
• Phase 1C: Abu Dhabi/Dubai border to Al-Jaddaf (52.1km)
• Phase 1D: Abu Dhabi airport delta junction and connection with Abu Dhabi airport station (9.2km)

The rail line will have five stations: Al-Zahiyah (ADT), Saadiyat Island (ADS), Yas Island (YAS), Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and Al-Jaddaf (DJD).

The ADT, AUH and DJD stations will be underground, while ADS will be elevated and YAS will be at grade.

The overall construction package also includes provisions for rolling stock, railway systems and two maintenance depots.

The high-speed project will slash journey times between the UAE’s two largest cities and economic centres. The journey time between the YAS and DJD stations will be 30 minutes.

Spanish engineering firms Sener and Ineco are the project’s engineering consultants.