Dubai to Abu Dhabi by Train (2026): Etihad Rail Tickets, Stations, Times and What to Know

Etihad Rail formally launches its national passenger network on September 30, 2026, the day Dubai Al Yalayis station and Al Dhaid station in Sharjah open. From that date, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah are connected by direct passenger trains for the first time.

The service is not starting from zero. An introductory phase has been running since June 30, 2026 between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, a trip of 1 hour and 45 minutes, so the trains, crews and stations have a summer of daily operations behind them.

The rest of the network follows in stages: Madinat Zayed and Liwa on November 30, 2026, the Al Dhafra stations of Al Sila, Al Dhannah and Mirfa on December 30, 2026, and the University City station in Sharjah on March 30, 2027. The full line runs about 900 km from Al Sila near the Saudi border to Fujairah on the east coast.

Neither terminus is in the city center, which surprises most first-time riders. The Abu Dhabi station is in Mohamed Bin Zayed City on the mainland side of the capital, and the Dubai station sits in the south of the city next to Jumeirah Golf Estates, well away from Downtown and the Marina.

Dubai to Abu Dhabi takes 57 minutes station to station. Driving the same corridor takes up to an hour and a half in traffic, and the train time is fixed no matter what the E11 is doing. Abu Dhabi to Fujairah takes 1 hour and 45 minutes, so a coast-to-coast Dubai to Fujairah trip via the junction is also on the network from day one.

Timetables for the Dubai leg go live in the Etihad Rail app and journey planner with booking. As a guide to service patterns so far, stations operate 5am to 11pm daily, and the introductory Abu Dhabi to Fujairah route has run three departures a day each way, leaving Abu Dhabi at 8:19am, 1:53pm and 6:39pm. Expect the schedule to grow as the network phases open.

Tickets are sold in the Etihad Rail app and at etihadrail.ae. You pick stations and a date, choose Comfort or Premium class and a fare tier, and pay by card or phone wallet; the ticket is digital. An optional shuttle bus add-on costs Dh10.

Published prices so far cover the Abu Dhabi to Fujairah route: Dh55 in Comfort and Dh120 in Premium, a 50 percent launch discount off the standard Dh109 and Dh239. Fares for the Dubai to Abu Dhabi leg have not been published yet; going by the discounted launch pricing on the first route, expect the popular intercity hop to be priced to compete with a taxi at a fraction of the cost. We will update this section when the numbers are out.

Each class sells in three tiers, Saver, Value and Flex. Saver is the cheapest and allows no changes or refunds, Value allows free changes until 72 hours before departure, and Flex allows free changes any time plus a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead.

The passenger fleet is 13 trains carrying up to 400 passengers each, with Comfort as the standard cabin and Premium offering wider seats and complimentary service. These are new trains on a new line, built for desert operating conditions.

The UAE has no EU-style roaming cap, so visitors from Europe, the UK, the US and most of Asia pay full roaming rates that add up fast across a trip of maps, ride-hailing, bookings and video calls.

Local coverage is excellent: the UAE's networks are among the fastest in the world, with 5G across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the corridor between them. A local SIM at the airport means queueing at a counter and registering with your passport after a long flight.

A UAE eSIM installed before departure is the simple route: you land with data already working, book your train seat from the arrivals hall, keep your home number active for calls and bank codes, and top up from the app if the trip runs long.