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UAE National Rail Network Connects Abu Dhabi with Dubai

Dubai Deputy Ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of Etihad Rail Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the rail network. (WAM)
Dubai Deputy Ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of Etihad Rail Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the rail network. (WAM)
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UAE National Rail Network Connects Abu Dhabi with Dubai

Dubai Deputy Ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of Etihad Rail Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the rail network. (WAM)
Dubai Deputy Ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of Etihad Rail Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the rail network. (WAM)

The UAE completed the railway directly linking Abu Dhabi with Dubai as part of Etihad Rail to connect the rest of the Emirates with an integrated railway network.

The railway track marks the start of a new phase of logistic and economic integration between the two emirates and in preparation for linking the rest of the emirates to an integrated national railway network in the UAE.

The completion of the central railway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai comes within the framework of "The UAE Railway Program," which was launched as a part of the Projects of the 50, with an investment worth $13.6 billion.

The UAE Railway Program includes a national network of railway projects that would link the seven emirates. It is expected to create economic opportunities amounting to $54.4 billion.

Dubai Deputy Ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stressed that the Railway Program reflects UAE's ambitions and aspirations to start the next 50 years with substantial development projects that enhance its position as a leading regional and global hub in the sectors of trade, economy, and logistics services.

Sheikh Maktoum noted that the completion of the central railway of the Rail Network project between Dubai and Abu Dhabi represents a pivotal phase that shows the great benefits of this national project in linking all the emirates of the country and boosting transportation between industrial and economic centers and facilitating transportation within the UAE.

"The economic effects of linking Abu Dhabi and Dubai via the 'UAE National Rail Network' will extend for many years," Sheikh Maktoum was quoted by the WAM state news agency.

Chairman of Etihad Rail Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stressed the importance of completing the central railway of the National Network connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Sharjah, joining the cities and industries to a safe and sustainable rail network.

"The completion of the main railway will enhance the strategic position of the project at the transport and infrastructure levels, and contributes to the promotion of sustainable development in the UAE, and the consolidation of its position to remain in the first ranks at the regional and global levels."

The railway of 256 km is designed based on the highest international standards and specifications concerned with environmental aspects, safety, and quality, which will play a pivotal role in developing the UAE National Rail Network, facilitating goods transportation within the UAE, and reducing transportation costs.

The railway includes 29 bridges, 60 crossings, and 137 drainage channels. The total excavation and backfill work amounted to 46 million cubic meters, with 13,300 workers recording more than 47 million working hours.

At a 200 km/h, the project will connect 11 cities within the UAE, where passengers can travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in 50 minutes and from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah in 100 minutes.

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Business

Saudi GDP Grows 2.8% in First Quarter

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
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Saudi GDP Grows 2.8% in First Quarter

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product grew 2.8% in the first quarter, year-on-year, preliminary government estimates showed on Thursday.

Non-oil activities grew 2.8% in the quarter, and oil activities increased 2.3% from the prior-year period, the General Authority of Statistics data ⁠showed.

On a quarterly basis, growth shrank 1.5% in the three months to March 31 compared to the fourth quarter, driven by a decline in oil activities.

Oil activity decreased 7.2% from the fourth quarter, while non-oil activity was almost flat.

Business

IMF Warns Asia to Keep Policy in Balance Amid Energy Disruptions

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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IMF Warns Asia to Keep Policy in Balance Amid Energy Disruptions

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Asian countries will need to keep their powder dry in preparation for future shocks even as they tackle an energy crisis caused by the Iran War, IMF Director for Asia Pacific Krishna Srinivasan said on Thursday.

With energy supplies running short due to the logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, southeast Asian economies have budgeted significant sums to cushion the impact of surging prices, and have also introduced measures to conserve energy, including work from home plans.

But Srinivasan, speaking at a media roundtable, warned countries against ramping up energy subsidies.

"If you give generalised subsidies, it's very hard to pull it back," he said, adding that countries should instead provide budget neutral ⁠and targeted fiscal ⁠support, and maintain fiscal discipline.

"In other words, cut elsewhere to support people who are being hit by the energy shock," Reuters quoted him as saying.

Srinivasan said that while some markets, such as Thailand and China, can hold off on tightening monetary policy because they are in deflationary territory, markets already above their inflation targets, including Australia, need to start now.

He also ⁠noted that some markets, such as the Philippines, have decided to tighten preemptively to anchor inflation expectations, but he added that the IMF's advice would have been to see through the shock and wait to see if inflation really picks up in a meaningful way.

"You may want to take insurance upfront or you may want to wait and see so that you don't hurt growth ... it's a very difficult balance to strike as a central bank governor," he said.

The IMF cut its global GDP outlook for 2026 to 3.1% on April 14, assuming ⁠a short-lived Middle ⁠East conflict and oil prices normalising in the second half of the year.

However, IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas warned that the fund's "adverse scenario" of 2.5% growth looked increasingly likely, with continued energy disruptions and no clear path to end the conflict.

Srinivasan said that if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed beyond the next three months and oil prices stay elevated for the rest of the year, the IMF's more severe growth scenarios will become more likely.

There are still downside risks to growth, with a number of uncertainties facing the world economy, including the duration of the energy crisis and the severity of fertiliser shortages, which could create a food supply shock, he said.

Business

Euro Zone Inflation Soars Further Above ECB Target

FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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Euro Zone Inflation Soars Further Above ECB Target

FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Euro zone inflation surged further in April on soaring energy costs, Eurostat data showed on Thursday, adding to the case for interest rate hikes, even if benign underlying price growth figures ease the urgency of any move.

Inflation in the 21 countries sharing the euro currency jumped to 3.0% this month from 2.6% in March, moving further above the European Central Bank's 2% target, with energy costs accounting for the vast majority of the increase.

A closely watched figure ⁠on underlying or 'core' ⁠inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, meanwhile slowed to 2.2% from 2.3% a month earlier.

Services inflation, a stubbornly high component of the price basket over the past several years, slowed to 3.0% from 3.2% while inflation for non-energy industrial ⁠goods, a key drag on prices picked up to 0.8%.

The figures are a mixed bag for the ECB, which is meeting on Thursday and will likely keep interest rates unchanged, even if it signals that policy tightening is increasingly likely, Reuters reported.

The high headline inflation print strengthens the argument for interest rate hikes but the underlying figures suggest that the initial energy shock is not yet creating major ⁠second round effects.

The ⁠ECB is largely powerless against an energy shock but must step in if these second round effects become visible as they risk creating a hard-to-break self-sustaining inflation spiral.

This is why investors expect the ECB to hike its 2% deposit rate already in June and see at least two more moves before the end of the year.

This outlook is volatile, however, and largely depends on developments in the Iran war and oil prices, which hit a four-year-high of $124 on Thursday.