16 September 2026
The first railway between the UAE and Oman will begin trial operations in the final three months of 2027. The timing was given by Said bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, on 15 September 2026. The 238 kilometre line is being built by Hafeet Rail, a joint venture of Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and Mubadala Investment Company, and it will link Sohar Port in Oman to the UAE national network through Al Buraimi, Wadi Al Jizzi and Al Ain, and on to Abu Dhabi. The project is costed at USD 2.5 billion, construction has passed 40% completion and work has moved from major civil engineering to track laying. Passenger trains will run at up to 200 km/h and cover Sohar to Abu Dhabi in 100 minutes.
What was announced
The minister told media that experimental operations on the cross border line would start during the last quarter of 2027. That is the first public date attached to the start of running trains on the route, as opposed to construction milestones. Trial operations are the phase in which trains run on finished track under real conditions, with signalling, braking, border procedures and timetables tested before any commercial service is sold.
The statement follows a formal step on the Omani side. The bilateral railway agreement between the two countries was signed on 21 June 2026 and ratified in Oman by Royal Decree No. 75/2026, which took effect on 3 September 2026. That decree gives the cross border operation its legal basis, which matters for a line that will move goods and people across an international frontier under one operating regime.
The route: from a port to a national network
The line starts at Sohar in northern Oman, a port and industrial cluster on the Gulf of Oman, and runs inland through Al Buraimi and Wadi Al Jizzi to Al Ain in Abu Dhabi emirate, where it meets the existing UAE network. From Al Ain, trains continue on Etihad Rail infrastructure towards Abu Dhabi and the rest of the country.
The geography is not simple. The corridor crosses mountainous, urban and industrial terrain, and the build includes roughly 2.5 kilometres of tunnels, 36 viaducts, 21 over bridges, 39 underpasses and 881 culverts. Signalling uses the European standard ETCS Level 2 over a fibre optic backbone, the same generation of train control used on modern European high speed and freight corridors.
When complete the network is planned to serve more than 12 passenger stations across the two countries, connect five major ports and tie into more than 15 integrated freight facilities. For Oman the practical effect is a rail connection from its northern port complex into a national system that already reaches Jebel Ali and the ports of the UAE east coast.
Where construction stands
Hafeet Rail reported 40% completion in April 2026, with the project moving out of the heavy civil phase and into installation of the railway itself. Track laying has started, which is the point at which a railway stops being an earthworks programme and starts becoming a line. Construction is running in parallel at several locations along the route, including Sohar, Al Buraimi, Wadi Al Jizzi and Al Ain.
The financial picture has also changed since the project was first announced. The joint venture was formed in 2022 as Oman and Etihad Rail Company and rebranded as Hafeet Rail on 23 April 2024, the same day a USD 1.5 billion design and construction contract was signed. Preparatory works began in May 2024. The headline project cost, originally put at USD 3 billion, has since been brought down to USD 2.5 billion, with USD 1.5 billion of project financing secured in October 2024.
What will run on the line
The route is designed for both passengers and freight, which is unusual in the region: most new Gulf rail capacity so far has been built freight first. The published operating parameters are as follows.
| Parameter | Passenger | Freight |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum speed | 200 km/h | 120 km/h |
| Capacity per train | 350 to 400 seats | 15,000 tonnes or 276 TEU |
| Sohar to Abu Dhabi | 100 minutes | not published |
| Sohar to Al Ain | 47 minutes | not published |
The comparison that matters for passengers is Sohar to Al Ain: 47 minutes by train against about 1 hour 27 minutes by road today. For freight, the relevant number is 276 TEU in one movement, which is the container equivalent of a long road convoy consolidated into a single crew and a single border crossing.
What this means for companies trading between the UAE and Oman
Nothing changes for cargo owners in 2026. There is no rail service to book, no published tariff and no announced freight operator for the cross border route. What the announcement does is put a date on the horizon that logistics planning can be measured against: trials in late 2027, with commercial service after that.
Three things are worth noting for companies whose supply chains touch both countries. First, Sohar Port gains a land link into the UAE network, which changes the calculation for cargo that currently arrives in one country and moves by truck to the other. Second, the corridor connects industrial zones and free zones on both sides, so location decisions made now for a warehouse or a light manufacturing site will sit inside a different transport map by the end of the decade. Third, a single cross border rail movement concentrates customs handling at fewer points than a fleet of trucks does, which changes how documentation and clearance are organised rather than what the duties are.
None of that is a reason to restructure an operation today. It is a reason to know the route when choosing where to register and where to warehouse. The choice between a free zone and a mainland structure already turns on where goods physically move and who they are sold to, and our guide on mainland and free zone companies in the UAE sets out how that decision is made in practice. The wider picture of how the country is assembling ports, rail and air into one system is covered in our review of the UAE as a multimodal logistics hub.
What has not been announced
- The date commercial passenger and freight services begin, as opposed to trials.
- Fares, freight tariffs and who will sell capacity on the cross border route.
- The full station list and which stops open first.
- Customs and border procedure at the crossing: whether clearance happens at origin, at the frontier or at destination terminals.
- Whether passenger services will start at the same time as freight or later.
Until those points are published, the line is a construction project with a trial date attached, not a service that a company can plan a shipment around. The same caution applies here as to the recently signed air and rail integration agreement between Etihad Airways and Etihad Rail: an announced framework is not yet a bookable product.
How Atlant Capital can help
Companies positioning for the corridor usually have the same practical questions, and they are answered before the railway opens, not after.
- Choosing the jurisdiction and activity codes for a trading or logistics company, including whether a free zone or mainland licence fits the goods flow. See company setup in the UAE.
- Structuring a group that operates on both sides of the border, so that invoicing and ownership match where the goods actually move.
- Opening and maintaining corporate accounts for a trading business, which is usually the longest step. See bank account opening.
- Residency and work permits for the staff who will run a warehouse or a terminal operation on the UAE side.
Conclusion
A date has been set for the first trains to run between the UAE and Oman: the last quarter of 2027, on a 238 kilometre line that is more than 40% built and now being tracked. The legal framework is ratified, the financing is closed and the cost has settled at USD 2.5 billion. What is still missing is everything a shipper needs to use it, from tariffs to customs procedure. For companies building a presence in the region, the useful response is to treat the corridor as a fact when choosing where to sit, and to wait for the operating detail before changing how anything ships.
Source: Gulf News.
FAQ
When will the UAE Oman railway open?
Trial operations are due to start in the final three months of 2027, according to Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology on 15 September 2026. A date for commercial passenger and freight service has not been announced. Trials are a testing phase, so the first paying journeys will come later.
How long is the Hafeet Rail line and what does it connect?
The line is 238 kilometres long. It runs from Sohar Port in northern Oman through Al Buraimi and Wadi Al Jizzi to Al Ain in the UAE, where it joins the Etihad Rail national network and continues towards Abu Dhabi. The route includes about 2.5 kilometres of tunnels, 36 viaducts and 881 culverts.
How fast will trains run between Oman and the UAE?
Passenger trains are designed for up to 200 km/h and freight trains for up to 120 km/h. Sohar to Abu Dhabi is planned at 100 minutes and Sohar to Al Ain at 47 minutes, against roughly 1 hour 27 minutes by road today. Each freight train will carry up to 15,000 tonnes or 276 TEU.
Who is building the railway and what does it cost?
Hafeet Rail is a joint venture of Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and Mubadala Investment Company, formed in 2022 and rebranded in April 2024. The project cost has been brought down from USD 3 billion to USD 2.5 billion, with USD 1.5 billion of project financing secured in October 2024.
