Fujairah cargo can now clear customs in Abu Dhabi, about 200 km by rail

A Fujairah-ICAD rail service launched by Etihad Rail and AD Ports Group lets Fujairah containers travel about 200 km to clear customs at the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi.

The two companies announced the service on 20 September. It combines a dedicated freight train with an inland cargo gateway at ICAD, where goods are inspected, cleared and released. The trains run three times a week between Fujairah Terminals on the Gulf of Oman coast and the industrial zone in the capital. Etihad Rail Freight, the Etihad Rail subsidiary responsible for freight, runs the service.

Booking cargo to ICAD under code AECAD

ICAD has received its own UN/LOCODE, AECAD, which registers the site as an international logistics location in shipping and trade systems. According to the two companies, cargo owners, forwarders and shipping lines can for the first time name ICAD in a booking as both the destination and the point of clearance.

The partners say that sending containers straight from Fujairah Terminals to the inland gateway cuts handling, makes customs procedures simpler and speeds up the movement of goods across Abu Dhabi.

Importers and manufacturers in Abu Dhabi

The service targets importers, exporters, manufacturers, distributors and logistics companies in the emirate. They can take delivery nearer their factories, warehouses and markets. Etihad Rail and AD Ports Group also cite reliable schedules, room to scale up high-volume cargo, less congestion on the roads and lower emissions than long-distance trucking. The announcement gives no figures for train capacity, journey time or pricing.

Omar Alsebeyi, chief executive of Etihad Rail Freight, said:

“Through our partnership with AD Ports Group, we have created an innovative logistics solution that goes beyond transportation by bringing key port services closer to where cargo is ultimately needed.”

Saif Al Mazrouei, chief executive of the Ports Cluster at AD Ports Group, said the service brings Fujairah Terminals, the national rail network and ICAD into a more connected system. He added that it carries the group’s port infrastructure past the terminal itself.

Fujairah Terminals belongs to AD Ports Group, which says the terminal’s east coast location helps connect the UAE with the GCC, India, the Red Sea and East Africa.

ICAD rail terminal and the 2025 customs corridor

Etihad Rail connected its ICAD freight terminal to the main line of the national network in September 2022. At the time, the company called the site the largest inland rail freight terminal in the UAE. It said the terminal would process up to nine trains a day and also offer customs services.

Fujairah Terminals is also part of a separate customs project. On 1 October 2025, Etihad Rail, Abu Dhabi Customs, Fujairah Customs, AD Ports Group, Fujairah Terminals and Noatum Logistics signed a memorandum on a bonded rail corridor between the terminal and Khalifa Port, with pilot operations scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025.