You can now skip the highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi entirely. Etihad Rail has officially opened its first Dubai station — Al Yalayis Station, at Jumeirah Golf Estates near Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311) — with regular passenger service starting Wednesday, September 30.
The launch got a ceremonial send-off: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan rode the train from the capital to Dubai on Monday to inaugurate the station, completing the trip in 1 hour and 4 minutes. Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan was also on hand, calling the connection a boost to Dubai's accessibility and its standing as a hub for business and tourism.
For travellers, the numbers are the interesting part. The Dubai–Abu Dhabi run takes just over an hour, direct, with five departures in each direction spread across the day. The first train out of Dubai leaves at 6.14am (into Abu Dhabi by 7.18am); the first from Abu Dhabi leaves at 6.43am. The last departures are at 6.14pm from Dubai and 5.43pm from Abu Dhabi, so it works for day trips in either city but won't cover late-night returns.
Pricing is tiered: Comfort tickets start from Dhs39 (roughly £8), while Premium starts at Dhs109. Compare that with a taxi between the two cities, which typically runs well past Dhs200, and the rail link looks like a genuine budget win for anyone hopping between the emirates without renting a car. Bookings go through the Etihad Rail website or app.
Why it matters: until now, getting between the UAE's two biggest cities without a car usually meant a bus (cheap but slow) or a taxi (fast but pricey). A one-hour, sub-Dhs40 train changes the maths for day-trippers — think Dubai sightseeing in the morning, the Louvre Abu Dhabi or the Corniche in the afternoon. The station sits slightly out of central Dubai near Jumeirah Golf Estates, so factor in a taxi or ride-hail connection from the E311 area on either end, at least until the network grows.
This is also the first taste of a wider plan. Etihad Rail is the UAE's national railway, and linking Dubai into it is the clearest sign yet that inter-emirate travel by train is becoming a real option rather than a novelty.
