By Vicky Kapur www.emirates247.com
With the tracks laid out, trains imported into the country, and final testing ongoing, Etihad Rail, the UAE’s national rail network, will begin commercial operations later this year, according to a senior Federal Transport Authority (FTA) official.
“2015 will be a milestone for the UAE as we will start operating the first phase of the 240km of rail network in the region,” said Salem Ali Zaabi, Director-General, FTA, during his keynote address at last week’s Middle East Rail conference.
In 2012, Huawei was chosen to work on the Etihad Rail project to provide communication network infrastructure with GSM-R, MSN (Multi-Service Networks) and a Masterclock.
The GSM-R network is a modern-era communications technology used for railway operations on a day-to-day basis. Huawei maintains its GSM-R solution allows railway communications to be interoperable between various railway companies and ensure highest level of service quality even at the highest of train speeds.
Although known for its smartphones and other electronics devices, Huawei is well established in the railways domain. In fact, Huawei deployed the mobile transmission network for the Dubai Metro Green Line, which provides mobile service access to thousands of daily Dubai commuters across 18 Metro stations along the line. More info