Tracks towards tomorrow

The golden colours of Autumn have all but reclaimed this old railway line. Once a lifeline that connected and economically empowered communities in industrialised nations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, railways’ popularity (and financial viability) waned during the mid-twentieth century as the availability of cars grew and more people took the roads, leaving some railways stations closed and tracks abandoned.

Far from the Northern hemisphere, a different railway story is gathering speed. In September, the UAE’s Etihad Rail formally launched its passenger rail network, opening stations in Dubai and Al Dhaid. Abu Dhabi to Dubai services began the same day, joining an Abu Dhabi to Fujairah route that had already carried more than 150,000 passengers in its first three months.

As well as offering a cheaper, more direct mode of transport, the climate case for rail travel is strong: Etihad Rail’s freight service, running since February 2023, has already removed more than 340,000 truck journeys from the roads and cut emissions by 70 to 80 per cent per trip, according to Adhraa Almansoori, the company’s Director of Public Policy and Sustainability.

In fact, the entire Etihad Rail project is a key component of the UAE’s net zero by 2050 strategy: By shifting transport from road to rail, the national network has the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions from the UAE’s road sector by up to 21% annually, equivalent to removing up to 8.2 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2050.

Modern travel may have changed beyond recognition, with autonomous cars and flying taxis now adding to our options in the UAE – but railways are still a vital part of the picture. Far from being a relic, they show that the smartest route to a sustainable transport sector may already have been set.

This award-winning photograph is from ‘The moment’, the seventh season of the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Archive. The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA, leveraging the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.