Etihad Rail awards deal for 240 wagons to Chinese firm

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE's railway network, said on Monday it has appointed China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited (CSR) to supply 240 covered wagons to transport granulated sulphur in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. With contracts also recently announced for the railway sleepers and locomotives, this rolling stock award represents another key step forward in the plans to deliver the first stage of the network by the end of 2014, Etihad Rail said in a statement. The company is working in partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to construct the 266km route that will transport up to 22,000 tonnes of granulated sulphur daily from sources in Shah and Habshan for export in Ruwais.Etihad Rail said CSR, the world's largest manufacturer of electric locomotives, will provide covered wagons ideal for carrying the sulphur in a safe and efficient manner but no value for the contract was disclosed. Construction on the first phase of the network is scheduled to start at the end of this year with the first freight trains scheduled to be on the tracks by 2013. Commenting on the railway wagons award, Etihad Rail CEO Richard Bowker said: "We are delighted to have such an expert in the industry as CSR join our portfolio of contractors and we look forward to working closely with them. This latest award sees another important element of the first stage of the network in place." Etihad Rail's AED40 billion railway project is forecast to grow to transport up to 50 million tonnes of freight and 16 million passengers per year. In July, Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), one of the world's largest builders of diesel-electric locomotives and a unit of Caterpillar, was picked to design and manufacture seven heavy haul freight locomotives for delivery by 2012. Following a competitive tender process, Etihad Rail awarded the contract to the US-based company to design, manufacture, deliver, test and commission locomotives for stage 1 of the Etihad Rail network, running from Shah to Ruwais.