In an effort to promote tourism and highlight the nation’s heritage and picturesque charms, national railway network operator Etihad Rail joined with Italian hospitality company Arsenale Group to offer travellers access to a luxury train service in the UAE.
During the two-day Middle East Rail Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, the companies inked a memorandum of agreement to launch the 15-carriage transit option that will go throughout the UAE towards the border with Oman.
In the course of the project, an Italian business will entirely renovate carriages in specialised facilities in the Italian regions of Puglia and Sicily.
According to a press release from Arsenale Group, the UAE will be among the first nations in the world to offer a luxury cruise service with a completely customised train.
“By providing a luxury train experience, we are bringing a one-of-a-kind, top-notch offering to the area and helping to expand the UAE’s tourism industry. Additionally, we will be able to show off the nation’s rich legacy and natural beauty to tourists from all over the world, according to Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail.
Once the railway project is complete, there are plans to expand the service to the larger Gulf Cooperation Council region.
Following the signing of an MoU with Saudi Arabia Railways in March to start the first luxury train service in the Middle East in the Kingdom, this is Arsenale’s second initiative in the area.
The agreement calls for the introduction of a train with 40 opulent cabins onto Saudi rails by 2025 as part of the “Dream of the Desert” project, which would traverse the nation from Riyadh to Qurayyat.
“The train cruise is the present and the future of tourism, and Arsenale wishes to provide this innovative, exciting, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation in the most stunning locations in the world. According to Paolo Barletta, CEO of Arsenale, “this partnership shows that there are no boundaries to passion and no obstacles that can stop the desire to go beyond the imaginable.”
In order to boost rail passenger and freight development, Etihad Rail inked a total of seven agreements at the conference.
