Oman-UAE cross-border rail project enters underground work

Tunnel excavation has officially started in the Al Hajar Mountains as part of the UAE–Oman Hafeet Rail cross-border railway project. Access roads to tunnel portals were previously completed to facilitate the movement of heavy machinery and materials to the construction zones.

The tunnel work marks a transition from surface preparatory works into the more technically demanding phase of underground works. According to official project sources, the rail route will traverse mountainous terrain where tunnels are required to maintain optimized alignment and manageable gradients.

The Hafeet Rail joint venture, backed by Etihad Rail, Oman Rail, and Mubadala, is responsible for delivering a roughly 238-kilometer rail link between Sohar (Oman) and the UAE’s national rail network.

The railway is designed to carry both freight at speeds up to 120 km/h and passenger services at speeds up to 200 km/h, and is expected to include approximately 60 bridges and multiple tunnel sections, some of which may extend beyond 2.5 km in length.