Etihad Rail and AD Ports Group have launched a direct freight service linking Fujairah Terminals with the Industrial Metropolis of Abu Dhabi, making a rail-based inland logistics route between the UAE’s East Coast and Abu Dhabi’s foremost industrial zone.
The service combines scheduled rail freight with a customs-enabled inland cargo gateway at ICAD, permitting containers arriving at Fujairah to maneuver on to Abu Dhabi for inspection, clearance and launch. The companions mentioned the association is meant to shorten dealing with chains and produce port companies nearer to producers, distributors and different cargo homeowners.
Cargo will journey about 200 kilometres by rail from Fujairah Terminals to ICAD, the place customs clearance and inspection services can be found. The devoted service will function 3 times every week, offering a daily different to long-haul street transport for importers, exporters and industrial customers serving the capital.
A central characteristic of the association is ICAD’s designation underneath the United Nations location coding system as AECAD. The code permits transport traces, freight forwarders and cargo homeowners to guide shipments on to ICAD because the vacation spot and clearance level moderately than treating the commercial space solely as an inland supply location.
Etihad Rail Freight chief government Omar Alsebeyi mentioned the service extends the function of the nationwide rail community past transport by integrating cargo motion with customs and inland dealing with. He mentioned clients would have the ability to simplify logistics processes and scale back the interval between a vessel’s arrival and remaining supply.
Saif Al Mazrouei, chief government of the Ports Cluster at AD Ports Group, mentioned the route hyperlinks Fujairah Terminals, the nationwide rail community and ICAD inside a single logistics system. The construction is designed to offer companies higher flexibility in shifting items between maritime gateways, manufacturing centres and finish markets.
The undertaking additionally expands the business use of Fujairah Terminals as an entry level for cargo certain for Abu Dhabi. The terminal sits on the Gulf of Oman, outdoors the Strait of Hormuz, whereas ICAD hosts producers and logistics corporations inside Abu Dhabi’s industrial ecosystem.
The brand new hyperlink follows efforts by AD Ports Group and Etihad Rail to construct a broader rail-connected logistics community throughout the UAE. AD Ports Group mentioned in Could that it was creating a multimodal inland community of rail-linked dry ports and cargo depots, together with ICAD, with Fujairah Terminals and Khalifa Port serving as maritime gateways for industrial cargo.
That programme has concerned cooperation with main producers together with Emirates World Aluminium, EMSTEEL Group, Al Ghurair Iron & Metal and Tenaris. The intention is to enhance the motion of uncooked supplies, industrial inputs and completed merchandise between ports, factories, inland depots and regional markets.
Etihad Rail and AD Ports Group had already launched rail freight hyperlinks involving Fujairah. A shuttle service between Khalifa Port and Fujairah Terminals started in 2024, offering capability for containerised and different cargo and giving clients a substitute for street transport for larger-volume actions.
The businesses have additionally labored with customs authorities on bonded rail preparations. A separate initiative introduced in 2025 related Khalifa Port and Fujairah Terminals by coordinated customs procedures, with the target of decreasing clearance occasions and facilitating cargo transfers between ports and adjoining free zones.
Rail freight has assumed a wider function within the UAE’s contingency logistics preparations this 12 months as operators adjusted cargo flows throughout regional disruptions. AD Ports Group mentioned it had elevated the usage of Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, deployed further trucking capability and expanded rail frequencies to take care of provide chains and transfer items throughout the nation.
For purchasers utilizing the brand new Fujairah-ICAD service, the companions are emphasising predictable schedules, lowered street actions and the flexibility to scale volumes. Rail can consolidate bigger portions of cargo into fewer journeys, whereas direct motion to an inland customs level can scale back intermediate dealing with on the port and on the street.
