kenp84

Hello,
I've just joined the forum after having a scan through the different threads posted on here. I'm managing to find some of the answers I'm looking for so hopefully I won't be repeating any, at least I'll try not to!

So, I've just been offered a position within my company to join the first wave of people working on the new shiny rail network you guys are lucky enough to be benefiting from in the future! My job will be to make sure that the trains are maintained and running safely and efficiently for all. I can't say too much more other than the roads will start to be free of quite a few lorries which will make commuting quite a lot easier!

Ill be coming over some time in the next few weeks with my colleagues and will be based in mirfa ( until my wife and children come over). This will be quite interesting as I believe there is nothing in mirfa, but it'll be all work until I get housing and schooling sorted in Abu Dhabi ready for my family to arrive!

I haven't been to the UAE before, but I have spent a considerable amount of time in Kuwait previously so I have a rough idea of what to expect!

Well that's enough about me for now, I just wanna say hello and hopefully make some friends and try to help others out along the way as I learn too!

Thanks for reading.

busybee2

the shiney new railway will free up the big traffic jam of trucks waiting to go into ksa etc etc, but it wont affect any of the traffic that is in abu dhabi at all. mirfa is quite a way from abu dhabi. not many cars drive down that road.

kenp84

I appreciate what you're saying and yes, mirfa is a good distance away from Abu Dhabi but this is just the start point. The network will run along the whole of the emerates in the future to include passanger trains. There will be railway stations all over so commuting will be a lot quicker. I'm sure a lot of people will benefit from this in time. Trains are faster than cars and there won't be the stesses involved with driving on middle eastern roads!

busybee2

hahahah welcome to the muddle east, it will take a long long time before they build the next phase and people leave the comfort of their cars, look at the metro in dxb, it took ages and it needs to be all over the city, in auh there are plans for metro and trams etc but they are taking way too long. people will not commute from auh to dxb on the train if the infrastructure at the other end isnt there, what do they do when the get off the train as dxb is a very spread out city and then you need a car to get from a to b there. people will not give up their cars here.... have you seen how fast the cars travel here?

busybee2

its also costs, you can fit many people in a car how much would it cost to have 8 times return journey from auh to dxb and then around the city etc...... it has to be subsided the buses here in auh were really cheap and then they doubled the fares, which are still quite cheap but in reality the timings need to be more frequent for people to use them, not run every hour etc.

kenp84

Well I'm not there yet! Couple of weeks ill be there though!
As for passenger trains, it will take a long time I know. I work on freight which is all done via road at the momnent, taking up a lot of road space! I can only compare Kuwaity traffic which was horrendous! I personally don't travel via train! My origional comment was for the future! Sorry if this wasn't clear!

busybee2

they were going to upgrade the mafraq to ghewifat road which is the one to the border.... went through all the ppp tendering process for over 1 year and then they decide that they werent going to do it. yes it takes up a lot of road space, but that road space is only used by the trucks, so it doesnt affect anybody else, certainly not anyone driving from auh or dxb

kenp84

Well, obviously I don't know exactly what the roads are like as I'm not there yet. I do know that the project is rather expensive so it must justify being built! I can understand peoples scepticism. Weather it will help folks in abu dhabi city or not I don't know. I was thinking about our roads here in uk and how much worse it would be if we didn't have a railway for freight and passenger travel. This isn't gonna be a magic fix over night I'm sure!

I am looking forward to the experience and the challenge I've been offered. Packing up and moving, sorting schools and safe comfortable accommodation for my family will be the hard parts I'm sure!

Kix

Ken, welcome, hope you have a great time here for you and your family.

You do realise this isn't Network Rail (or whatever they're currently called) don't you.

kenp84

Hi, yeh I know everything about the job! I already work for the rail operator who will be doing the work! I don't work on track stuff like network rail, I work on the trains themselves! This job is exactly what I do here in the uk, just in Abu Dhabi, an internal transfer I suppose!
Thanks for the welcome!

Kix

You don't need to bring jumpers mate....

kenp84

Jumpers! I'm not so sure that's good advice!
I remember when I was in kuwait, summer was unbearable and I worked outside in the desert but as soon as winter came ( nov, dec, jan), it was in the mid 20's and it was freezing cold. I mean, jumpers, woolly hats and gloves, absolutely baltic! I was thinking back home it'll be shorts and bbq's and here I am shivering cold at 25 oC!

Kix

Agreed late evening in the desert can be "Cold" but as I'm from Newcastle on Tyne - cold is when you go out when it's -5 with snow on the ground wearing a long sleeved shirt as it's a little chilly...

kenp84

Fair point, you are a hardened northerner! I'm originally from shropshire but now reside in nottingham, north for me anyway. The desert is just too hot or too cold!

Kix

I used to live in the Corve Valley near Ludlow .

Unfortunately I worked in Oswestry