Plan to connect Dubai and Abu Dhabi with high-speed rail link

The possibility of constructing a high-speed rail link connecting Abu Dhabi with Dubai is being discussed according to the chairman of the UAE capital's Department of Transport (DoT).

According to local news agency, Arabian Business, Abdulla Rashid Al Otaiba said at the launch of the DoT's five-year plan for Abu Dhabi's transport network, that the department was "having conversations [with the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA)] about connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai via the railway."

The DoT's five-year plan calls for the development of a high-speed rail network, a metro and light rail network.

Construction of new roads, the introduction of water taxis, an upgrade of the emirate's fleet of buses, and the continuation of its open skies policy to increase air traffic are also part of the plan, Arabian Business said.

It added the DoT said a key element of its plan was the privatisation of transport services through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

Dubai is in the process of constructing its own metro, with the first two lines, red and green, expected to come online in September 2009 and March 2010 respectively.

A blue line has also been earmarked to run along Emirates Road, although the exact route is currently unknown, and a fourth purple line will connect Dubai International Airport with Al Maktoum International Airport.