Following H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed’s federal decree forming Union Railway’s Board of Directors earlier this month, the groundbreaking project to build the UAE’s railway network gathered pace yesterday at the Board of Director’s first official meeting, led by H.E. Hussain Al Nowais, Chairman of Union Railway.
The Board was briefed on the significant progress made to date by the Abu Dhabi Passenger and Freight Railway Committee since its inception two years ago. Initial steps were also agreed at the meeting to drive the project forward into its next stage of growth.
To ensure the development of a rail system on par with global standards, the Board approved the appointment of a renowned international consultant to develop the organization’s strategy and implementation plan, as well as its operating and business model. In parallel, the Board discussed the development of the most effective and suitable operations, procurement and financial models for Union Railway.
The members also focused on the organization’s recruitment strategy and emphasized their intent to build a world-class team made up of the most qualified, professional talent. Most recently, industry expert Richard Bowker, who formerly led the UK’s National Express and Strategic Rail Authority, was appointed CEO of Union Railway.
Commenting on the meeting, Al Nowais said, “This first Board meeting is an important milestone in our drive to create this historic railway and, as a team, we are honored to be at the reins of this development. Today, our highest priority is building a best-in-class logistics and passenger network with the highest-caliber team to run the business successfully. In line with the Government’s numerous Emiratization initiatives, we are actively developing our UAE National workforce. We are in talks with several local and international educational institutions to develop specialized transport engineer curriculums, in an effort to develop local talent to run Union Railway in the future.”