(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Etihad Rail will complete the solarisation of its first freight terminal by the end of this year, a top official said. This could pave the way for future terminals. Adhraa Almansoori, Director of Public Policy and Sustainability at Etihad Rail explained why this was a“huge step” for the country.

“Now when we think about our future terminals and future passenger stations, this is where we need to go,” she said.“We need to utilise cleaner energies and smarter designs to make sure that we are meeting the UAE agenda for net zero.”

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She added that the team preferred to deal with suppliers that had a high awareness about sustainability.“We want to make sure that not only are our trips sustainable, but also the services that we provided with the service providers are also sustainable. We want to cover the full logistics end-to-end journey with better sustainability practices.”

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She was speaking at the Global Rail conference which began in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. At the event, a prototype of the Etihad Rail train was displayed along with automated gates and a ticket machine. The entity also signed an agreement with global transport firm Keolis to operate the upcoming passenger rail service, set to launch in 2026.

Green corridor

One of the promotional videos at the Etihad Rail stand at Global Rail showed how the entity was exploring a 'green corridor' which involved greenification around the tracks. Adhraa said that the idea was being explored and nothing definitive could be said about it.

“We are working with stakeholders to see how best to utilise the land next to the tracks,” she said.“We are looking into what kind of plants can grow there and whether it will help with sand mitigation - a process of the sand dunes moving because of the wind. If the sand moves and covers the tracks, it can be dangerous. So, we think about how we can use natural solutions to mitigate the sand movement.”

She said the project is still in the research and development phase as the right plants need to be selected.“It has to sustain itself and you also don't want to hurt the infrastructure because of the roots,” she said.

Protecting environment

She added that in every area that the railway track was laid down, Etihad Rail worked with local authorities to ensure that flora and fauna there was protected.“We crossed sand and mountains and the key to dealing with this was to collaborate with environmental agencies and other providers of each emirate,” she said.“We had multiple stakeholders from municipalities to environmental agencies vetting our process and supporting us into this.”

She added that every freight train on the network removes 300 trucks and that some customers of Etihad Rail have managed to cut their carbon emission by up to 80 per cent by using rail transport.

“We started giving our customers the Carbon Avoidance Certificate which tells them how much CO2 emissions they reduced by using the rail versus their regular mode of transport,” she said.“We were extremely happy to see that all of our customers have reported 70 to 80 per cent CO2 emission reductions just by using the rail. By 2050, the railway industry is anticipated to reduce emissions of land transportation by 21 per cent, which is equivalent to 8.2 million tons annually for all of our operations.”

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