In the UAE, the world’s 115th largest country by area and home to a population of around 9.5 million people, 80% of whom are foreigners, tens of billions of US dollars in infrastructure projects are underway at the same time. ONE of the world’s most ambitious construction projects is taking place in the middle of the desert. The Gulf Cooperation Council, made up of six of the richest countries in the Middle East, is building a 2,000-plus kilometre railway to better connect the region. With desert sands to cross and mountains to tunnel through, the challenges of the project are enormous, matched only by the price tag that comes with solving them. The railway has the potential to unite the Gulf, transform its transport sector, reduce carbon emissions and usher in a new era of economic development. But first it must overcome the political, financial and logistical challenges that stand in its way. Before we get into how the railway is being built, it’s important to understand why it is being built in the first place. Let’s start in February 1981 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman met to form a political and economic alliance called the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC. As a group, they had made a lot of money from oil and gas, meaning their economies were heavily tied to the oil market. Around 2008-2009, oil prices plummeted amid the Great Recession, and the Gulf economies suffered. That’s where rail came into play. In 2009, the GCC approved a massive rail project that would link all six member states. The cost would be split among the countries, and the entire project was estimated to cost between $100 billion and $250 billion. “Diversifying the Gulf economies away from oil and gas will help them develop stronger economies,” said Hussein A. Ameri, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. “Rail lines will help, for example, connect the country’s ports to manufacturing hubs, which will connect the country’s ports to urban centers.” A key element of the network is the Etihad Railway, an $11 billion, 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) freight and passenger railway that stretches across the Emirates from the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf. The UAE’s first national rail network is being built in two phases. The first phase was completed in 2016 and covers 264 kilometers (164 miles) from the Habshan and Shah districts of Abu Dhabi to the port of Ruwais. It’s a tough working environment, to say the least. It can get so hot in the summer that some construction sites work at night when temperatures approach 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Sand is suitable for difficult terrain. Etihad has learned from other desert builders, including China, Saudi Arabia and Mauritania. These countries have found solutions such as turning sand dunes into clay over the years, monitoring the movement of the dunes and installing vegetation walls to block the wind and sand. The design of the Etihad Rail locomotive includes a sand filtration system and a sand plough to help mitigate the problems associated with sand. In Phase 1, Etihad Rail has built 20 viaducts, two bridges, 10 underpasses and 18 smaller underpasses for future use. The company has also built two factories to produce the locally sourced concrete sleepers that form the backbone of the railway. Each sleeper is 2.6 metres long and weighs 340 kilograms. They are attached to the main rails using a fastening system and are used to stabilise the track and ensure the train runs smoothly, at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour for passenger trains. But this first route does not yet carry passengers. Instead, it carries up to 22,000 tonnes of granulated sulphur in 110 wagons every day. The element is mined in Abu Dhabi’s oil fields and processed for export at the port of Ruwais, where it is used to make everything from batteries to fertilisers and fireworks. As of mid-2021, Etihad Rail had carried more than 30 million tonnes of granulated sulphur for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Etihad says a single train journey reduces carbon emissions by 70-80% compared to a truck journey. The B1M