Hafeet Rail: the UAE–Oman railway, Abu Dhabi to Sohar in 100 minutes, and 40% built

While the UAE debates the rollout of Etihad Rail’s domestic passenger trains, a parallel line is under construction that takes the network across the border. Hafeet Rail is a 238km railway running from Abu Dhabi through Al Ain and Al Buraimi to the Omani port of Sohar. The $2.5bn project is run by a joint venture of Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and the Mubadala fund; construction began in May 2024.

Where the project stands

In April 2026 the company reported the line was 40% complete, with work under way simultaneously around Al Ain, Al Buraimi, Sohar and Wadi Al Jizzi, where the route crosses the Hajar Mountains. On 3 September 2026 Royal Decree 75/2026 came into force in Oman, ratifying the rail agreement with the UAE. No opening date has been given yet.

What will run on the line

Metric	Value
Length	238km
Passenger train speed	up to 200km/h
Sohar–Abu Dhabi	about 100 minutes
Sohar–Al Ain	about 47 minutes
Freight train	over 15 000 tonnes, about 270 containers
Cost	$2.5bn

The gain is even bigger for freight: a journey that takes five to eight hours by road will take the train about 100 minutes, linking Sohar’s industrial zone to ports and industrial districts around Abu Dhabi.

What it means for property

Do not expect a direct effect on Dubai or Abu Dhabi apartment prices — this is primarily a freight and cross-border line. But it carries three indirect consequences.

First, Al Ain. The garden city on the Oman border gets fast links to both the capital and Oman’s coast. For families who live in Al Ain and work in Abu Dhabi that widens the choice of where to live, and it should lift demand for warehouse and industrial property around the city.

Second, Oman as a second address. If a trip from Abu Dhabi to Sohar takes under two hours by train, property on Oman’s coast becomes more accessible to UAE residents. We covered how buying there works, and where a foreigner is actually allowed to own, in a piece on Oman’s ITC zones, and residency terms in our Gulf neighbours comparison.

Third, regional logistics more broadly. Warehouses and industrial plots near Etihad Rail’s freight hubs gain a direct route to another port, and demand for them should grow over time.

How passenger trains are rolling out inside the UAE, and which districts get stations, is in our piece on the Abu Dhabi high-speed line and the airport express.