Etihad Rail Stations: Every Opening Date Through March 2027

Checked on 29 October 2026 against Etihad Rail’s own published schedule.

The UAE’s national passenger railway has been running since 30 September 2026, when the network opened to passengers. Four stations are open today: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Dhaid and Fujairah. Four more open between now and March 2027, and Etihad Rail has put a date on each of them.

This page tracks those dates. If you are planning travel out of Dubai, the short version is that your options widen three times in the next five months.

Every confirmed station date

Those dates are Etihad Rail’s own, published on its passenger rail page. We will update this table as each one opens rather than publishing a fresh post each time.

What you can book from Dubai right now

Dubai station connects to the three other open stations. Etihad Rail’s booking system currently lists Dubai to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Fujairah as direct pairs, with Al Dhaid reachable on the same network.

Etihad Rail does not publish a fixed fare table. Prices are shown at the point of booking on etihadrail.ae, and the operator has said they move with passenger demand, peak travel times and how many seats are left on a given train. So the fare you see depends on when you travel and how far ahead you book, and a figure quoted somewhere else is not necessarily the one you will be charged.

What the next five months actually change

Three separate things, in order.

30 November 2026. Zayed City and Liwa open. This is the one that matters for anyone travelling into Abu Dhabi’s southern communities, which have had no rail option at all.

30 December 2026. The remaining Al Dhafra stations follow, completing that part of the network a month later.

30 March 2027. Sharjah opens. For Dubai residents this is the significant one. A Dubai to Sharjah rail link changes the daily calculation for a very large commuting population, and it is the first time that corridor has had an alternative to the road.

What the trains are like

Etihad Rail has designed the service around guaranteed seating rather than standing room. Every seat has power and Wi-Fi, and the company describes the stations as built to be walked into and understood without help, which is a reasonable thing to aim for on a network where most passengers are first-time rail users in this country.

It is worth remembering how new all of this is. Etihad Rail was set up in 2009 under Federal Law No. 2, but the passenger project only became a commitment in December 2021 as part of the Projects of the 50. Passenger services launched less than five years after that.

How it connects to the Metro

Getting to Dubai station is the question most people ask second. A dedicated bridge links the Metro to the Etihad Rail station, and the walk takes about five minutes.

We covered the Dubai launch and how tickets went on sale when the station opened, and the full route guide for the Dubai station covers getting there by road.

Where this sits in the bigger build

Etihad Rail is the national layer. Inside Dubai, the Metro Blue Line adds 14 stations by 2029, and RTA has mapped 29 new metro station locations beyond that. Both sit inside the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.

What to check before you travel

1. Book ahead. Seating is guaranteed, which means it is also limited.
2. Check the live schedule on the day. The network is adding stations, so timetables are still moving.
3. Allow time for the Metro connection at Dubai station if you are arriving by rail.
4. If you are waiting on Sharjah, the date to hold is 30 March 2027.