Train travel between the emirates is finally a reality. Etihad Rail's passenger service is up and running, with four stations open — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah and Al Dhaid in Sharjah — and tickets now on sale for journeys that used to mean a motorway trip.

The pricing is refreshingly cheap for the UAE. The flagship route between Abu Dhabi and Dubai runs five times a day and takes just one hour and four minutes, with Comfort seats from Dhs39 and Premium from Dhs109. Given the drive can easily stretch past 90 minutes with traffic, that's a genuinely useful alternative.

Heading east, one daily service links Dubai with Fujairah in one hour ten minutes, from Dhs29 in Comfort or Dhs89 in Premium. The longest run on the current map is Abu Dhabi to Fujairah — the two ends of the network — covering the distance in one hour 51 minutes across three daily trains, priced from Dhs55 (Comfort) or Dhs120 (Premium).

Sharjah's first station at Al Dhaid gets three trains a day from Abu Dhabi, a one hour 24 minute trip costing Dhs59 in Comfort and Dhs149 in Premium. The bargain of the network, though, is the short hop between Fujairah and Al Dhaid: 25 minutes for as little as Dhs19 in Comfort, or Dhs49 if you want Premium.

For travellers, the appeal is obvious. Fujairah's east-coast beaches and diving spots have always been an easy weekend pitch from Dubai, but the drive has been the barrier. Now it's an hour on the train for under Dhs30 in standard class. Abu Dhabi day trips from Dubai get similar treatment, and the Al Dhaid stop opens up a corner of Sharjah emirate most visitors never see.

Two classes is all you get for now, and frequencies are still limited — the Dubai–Fujairah route has just one train a day, so planning ahead matters. Booking is done entirely online through etihadrail.ae, and at these prices the trains could sell out on peak weekend days, especially the Fujairah services.

Worth flagging for visitors: Etihad Rail isn't a substitute for getting around within Dubai or Abu Dhabi — it's for hopping between emirates, so you'll still pair it with metro, taxis or buses at either end. But for anyone doing a multi-city UAE itinerary, the train is now often the fastest and cheapest option on the table.

Story via What's On Dubai.