Hafeet Rail is a joint venture of Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and Mubadala Investment Co. The total program cost is approximately $2.5 billion, according to Oman's Ministry of Finance. No completion date has been announced; Hafeet Rail said it is working to establish the project's operational timeline.

"Reaching the 40% completion milestone reflects the strong foundations of this project," said Ahmed AlMusawa AlHashemi, CEO of Hafeet Rail. "As we move into the next phase of delivery, our focus remains on maintaining momentum, strengthening collaboration among partners, and ensuring the project delivers long-term value in line with the highest international standards."

AlHashemi said the project has logged 10 million safe work hours without a major injury across all construction sites.

Work is advancing simultaneously across Al Ain, Al Buraimi, Sohar and Wadi Al Jizzi, where the alignment crosses urban, industrial and mountainous terrain requiring specialized engineering solutions. To date, more than 100,000 cu m of concrete have been placed, with 80 structures under construction.

Crews have also driven 900 piles and installed 130 box culverts, advancing toward a total of 881 culverts across the corridor, according to Hafeet Rail and Oman Ministry of Finance disclosures.

Ophiolite Geology and Drill-and-Blast Excavation

The project has entered a critical phase in Oman's Al Buraimi Governorate, where excavation is advancing on tunnels through the Hajar Mountains. Access roads and portal works are complete ahead of full tunnel drives on a corridor that includes about 2,500 m of total tunnel length.

The Hajar Mountains present complex geologic conditions for tunneling, consisting largely of ophiolite rock formations—uplifted oceanic crust composed of ultramafic and mafic materials such as peridotite and gabbro.

Ophiolite formations are typically highly fractured and variable in strength, conditions that generally require controlled drill-and-blast excavation, intensive ground support and continuous geotechnical monitoring.

Project disclosures indicate excavation and blasting are underway at tunnel portals, with full drives expected to proceed sequentially as access, stabilization and support systems are completed, allowing tunneling, structural lining and subsequent track installation to advance in staged progression through the mountain corridor.

The alignment also incorporates 39 underpasses integrated into drainage and access systems, alongside flood protection measures designed to maintain operational reliability in a region prone to episodic wadi flooding.

Bridge construction is advancing in parallel, with 57 structures—comprising 36 viaducts and 21 over-bridges—underway across the corridor. Some rise to about 34 m in height, reflecting terrain complexity and hydraulic design requirements.

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Hafeet Rail Civil Contractors, Systems Integrators and Project Management

Civil works are being executed by an Omani-Emirati consortium led by National Projects Construction, part of Trojan Construction Group, alongside Oman's Galfar Engineering & Contracting.

Systems delivery is being handled by a joint venture of Siemens Mobility and Hassan Allam Construction, responsible for design, construction and integration of signaling, telecommunications and power systems.

The scope includes deployment of the European Train Control System Level 2, enabling interoperability between the UAE and Oman networks, along with a fiber-optic communications backbone.

Systra is serving as project management and engineering consultant, overseeing delivery across civil and systems packages through commissioning.

"This contract massively increases our footprint in Oman, hopefully opening the door for many more projects there," said Esmaeil Ghahremani, Oman vice president for Systra DB&I, the firm's Design, Build & Integration division.

Systems installation is expected to follow completion of major civil works, with signaling and communications deployment proceeding in parallel with track laying.

Creating Cross-Border Connectivity

Once complete, the railway will connect Sohar Port with the UAE national rail network at Al Wathba, outside Abu Dhabi, creating a continuous corridor linking more than 12 passenger stations and cities, five major ports and more than 15 integrated freight facilities across both countries, according to Hafeet Rail.

Freight trains are designed to operate at speeds up to 120 kph and carry more than 15,000 tonnes of cargo, or roughly 270 standard containers per trip, according to Hafeet Rail. Passenger trains will run at speeds up to 200 kph, with travel time from Sohar to Abu Dhabi projected at 100 minutes and from Sohar to Al Ain at 47 minutes.

The system is designed to standardize track, signaling and communications specifications across both countries to enable seamless cross-border operations.

Abdulrahman Al Hatmi, CEO of Asyad Group, Oman's state-backed logistics provider and a Hafeet Rail partner, said the pace of construction reflects a shared commitment to on-schedule delivery of both passenger and freight services, citing workforce capabilities developed through Oman Rail over the past decade.

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A Regional Model

The Oman-UAE link is among the first operational cross-border segments within the Gulf Cooperation Council rail network, a regional framework established in 2009; GCC Secretary General Jassim Al-Budaiwi said in February that cross-country network connections are targeted to begin in 2030. Its progress also comes as the UAE is simultaneously extending its rail investment model beyond the Gulf through parallel freight corridor development.

As ENR previously reported, Jordan and the UAE signed a $2.3 billion agreement to develop a 360-km freight railway linking phosphate mines at Al Shidiya and potash production sites at Ghor Al Safi to the Port of Aqaba. The deal established the UAE-Jordan Railway Co., with Etihad Rail serving as the executing arm. 

While not physically connected to Hafeet Rail, the Aqaba corridor reflects the same logistics model—shifting bulk commodity transport from long-haul trucking to dedicated freight rail.

Project and government statements framing the agreement describe Etihad Rail's delivery approach as a template for comparable rail developments across the region.