Railways in the United Arab Emirates

[Photo of train in Dubai. Thomas Kautzor]

UAE is another country which on might be thought to have no railways, but sure enough, something can be found if one looks in the right places. On 25-27 November 2004 Thomas Kautzor went in search of railways in Dubai's parks.

All photos © Thomas Kautzor, 2004.

Park railways

As well as rubber-tyred road trains in the parks at

Al Mamzar Beach Park, Hamroya
Creekside Park, near Dubai Courts
Mushrif Park, Al Rashidiya
Safa Park, Jumeira

There are also some 'proper' trains.

Mushrif Park

At Mushrif Park, which the largest of the four parks and consists mainly of scrubland, there is a plinthed standard gauge train on a short section of track alongside a concrete platform, with a plaque reading OLD MUSHRIF PARK TRAIN (1975). A 4w Baguley-Drewry diesel locomotive is accompanied by and two wooden-bodied 4-wheel coaches, all painted in blue. The coaches seem to have been built on the frames of goods wagons, are braked and have builder's plates reading BUTTERLEY Co. Ltd. 1968, Builders Codnor Park, Nottingham.

Eljas Pölhö explains the history of this railway:

In 1968 Costain International Ltd commenced construction of Dubai's Port Rashid and used rail transport for getting materials on to the site. The breakwaters were composed of rock brought by road from Bayadat Quarry, some 20 miles inland, and then transferred to the standard gauge railway at a large construction yard adjacent to the future port's site. When the breakwaters were completed in 1971 the track was lifted and all rolling stock stored in an adjacent plant yard. Further extensions of the breakwaters were commenced in late 1975 but this time road vehicles were used for all transportation of materials.

They had 5 locomotives, Baguley-Drewry 3655-3657/1968 (L1 to L3) and RH 418595/1957, 418599/1958 (L4 resp. L5). L1 to L3 were new to Costain International, L4 and L5 were used in three other locations previously.

They had also 18 flat trucks, built by Butterley Co Ltd, Codnor Park Works.

The preserved loco is former L1, and it was used in Musrif National Park from Dec 1975 to 1981, and then plinthed. This large park (an irrigated oasis), situated 12km east along the main road from the International Airport, was opened by the Ruler of Dubai in December 1975, together with a railway about half a mile length. The line was to be extended to form a loop, but this never happened, and the line was abandoned by 1981. It was operated by one locomotive and two flat trucks converted to passenger coaches. The line was built by Costain International Ltd and they also presented the rolling stock.

L4 and L5 were scrapped in Dubai about September 1975.

L2 and L3 were stored in the Costain's plant yard in 1981 and at Bayadat Quarry in 1983.

Bayadat Quarry, Costain International Ltd: The quarry is in the desert about 30kms out of Dubai on the Al Ain road, shortly before the Jebel Ali-Hatta crossroads. Two Baguley-Drewry diesels (3656, 3657) were dumped at the edge of this quarry amongst other disused plant in 1983. Locomotives and other machinery were disposed some time between March 1987 and E/1991.

Safa Park

At Safa Park, there was a 60 cm (see below) gauge railway loop with a station/shelter at one end and a tunnel at the other. Inside the tunnel was a derailed train consisting of one steam-outline diesel locomotive (2'B no.115) and two bogie open coaches (15 seats each). Given the condition of the track, this railway seems not to have operated for quite some time.

Another report says a 381 mm (15 in) gauge miniature railway was in operation in 1981 in a park in the western suburbs of Dubai -could this be the same thing?

Projects

Metro

A two-line metro is planned for Dubai.

On 18 October 2004 Mitsubishi won a JPY10bn contract to build an automated peoplemover at Dubai International Airport.

Sources

The information on this page is assembled from postings to the World Diesel Loco mailing list by Richard Bowen, Thomas Kautzor, Daniel Osborne and Eljas Pölhö. Their quoted sources are

Industrial Railway Record 72 (1977), p74-76: The Railways of Dubai by W.F. Simms (includes two photos)
Continental Railway Journal 48 (1981), p356
Continental Railway Journal 53 (1983), p114
Continental Railway Journal 48 (1991), p493