AD Ports Group's Noatum Logistics and Oman's Hafeet Rail have signed an to operate a daily container freight train between the port of Sohar in Oman and the UAE's rail hub of Al Ain. The Al Ain hub is directly connected Khalifa Port by rail and also linked to Jebel Ali and Fujairah ports. This will be the first cross-border connection of the planned GCC-wide railway. The train will be configured to carry 276 TEU, equivalent to 15,000 tons of general cargo. Initially, it will provide a daily in both directions, which will be increased gradually as per the growing demand.

Noatum Logistics already operates a similar container shipping service between Khalifa Port and Fujairah, thus having the terminal-to-rail container-handling infrastructure in place.

The Hafeet Rail line connecting Al Ain to Port of Sohar is still construction and is a joint venture between Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and Mubadala Investment. Once operational, Fujairah Port and Port of Sohar are expected to for cargo that seeks to bypass the Strait of Hormuz to save on sailing time, insurance and transportation costs. The two ports are just 50 miles apart, but of Sohar may have a slight edge because of its greater distance from Iran, deeper draught in the Gulf of Oman and proximity to the main maritime routes to Asia, Europe Africa.

Port of Sohar is rapidly expanding as part of the growth of the Sohar Industrial Zone, which is operated by Asyad Group, Hutchinson Ports Port of Rotterdam. In addition to steel, ferrochrome, polypropylene, aluminium and food production complexes, the industrial zone is also home to a large rare earthinery that produces antimony trioxide.

Sohar has attracted more than $26bn in foreign direct investment and its industrial zone's land has significantly increased its establishment in 2002. In 2024, the port handled 15 per cent more containers, reaching 942,000U, while dry bulk cargo increased by 72 per cent.

In the next phase of Hafeet Rail's construction, the plan is to incorporate Muscat' Port Sultan Qaboos into the network. The ultimate goal is to incorporate Duqm Port and Salalah Port, providing Saudi Arabia with a direct freight route to theian Sea.

Saudi Arabia has long sought a trade route to the Arabian Sea that avoided the perils of the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz A land bridge through Oman to Duqm and Salalah is a more realistic option than trying to open a similar outlet through the long-unstable Yemen