Dubai is set to enter a new era of passenger transport on September 30, when Etihad Rail opens its Dubai Train Station as part of the UAE’s expanding national passenger rail network.

The milestone will bring Dubai into a railway system designed to connect the country’s population centres, economic hubs and tourism destinations, extending the role of rail beyond transportation to support wider urban and economic connectivity.

Dubai takes centre stage in network expansion

The September 30 launch will also see Al Dhaid Train Station begin operations, expanding passenger rail services beyond the initial Abu Dhabi-Fujairah connection.

The wider rollout will continue through the end of 2026 and into 2027. Liwa and Madinat Zayed are scheduled to open on November 30, followed by the remaining Al Dhafra stations on December 30. Sharjah Train Station is then expected to open on March 30, 2027, completing the planned route.

Read more-Etihad Rail’s details revealed: 7 new stations announced

The phased approach is intended to strengthen connections between people and places across the seven-emirate federation, while giving the railway a growing role in supporting sustainable development.

Faster journeys and new travel options

Passenger operations initially began between Abu Dhabi and Fujairah on June 30, with the route cutting the journey to 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The service is being positioned as an alternative to road travel, with passengers receiving guaranteed seating, complimentary wireless internet, charging ports at every seat and dedicated luggage space. Premium Class offers additional comfort and luxury for travellers seeking a higher-end experience.

The fleet serving passenger operations comprises 13 trains, with each train capable of carrying up to 400 passengers.

Fares for the Abu Dhabi-Fujairah service start at Dhs55 for Comfort Class and Dhs120 for Premium Class. Ticket purchases and journey bookings are available through the Etihad Rail mobile application and official website.

Rail ambitions extend beyond the current route

Etihad Rail’s passenger network is being developed as part of a much larger national transport strategy. Feasibility studies are planned to assess the possibility of extending passenger rail services to additional emirates.

The studies will help determine how the network could evolve as the UAE works towards a fully integrated national transport system, potentially opening new connections between communities and economic centres.

The passenger project traces its origins to the UAE Railway Programme, announced as part of the Projects of the 50 in 2021. Its development reflects the country’s broader strategy of investing in large-scale infrastructure to support economic and social development.

The rollout also demonstrates the UAE’s ability to translate long-term infrastructure plans into operational projects in a relatively short timeframe. For businesses and investors, the expanding network could create new opportunities by improving access between markets, workforce centres and destinations.

With Dubai’s station now approaching its September 30 opening, the passenger railway is moving into a new phase — one that will increasingly connect the UAE not only by road and air, but also by rail.

Careem is taking an unusual approach to winning customers in the UAE’s competitive food delivery market, offering cashback on orders placed not only through its own app but also through rival delivery platforms.

Running from September 1 to 7, the week-long campaign allows customers in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to receive 20 per cent cashback, capped at Dhs30, on food delivery orders regardless of which app they use. The cashback is credited to customers’ Careem Wallets and can be spent across the company’s wider ecosystem of services, including rides, groceries and food delivery.

The move highlights intensifying competition in the UAE’s on-demand delivery sector, where platforms are increasingly using rewards and loyalty programmes to attract and retain users.

Customers ordering through Careem will receive the cashback automatically. Those using competing delivery apps can participate by sending a screenshot of their completed order via direct message to @careemuae on Instagram, along with the phone number linked to their Careem account. Wallet credits will be issued within 24 hours.

Nourhan Farhat, vice president of Marketplace Businesses at Careem, said the campaign is designed to introduce more users to Careem’s broader platform.

“Abu Dhabi loves its food, and this week we’re picking up part of the bill, no matter which app people order from. Someone’s dinner from another platform ends up as credit in their Careem wallet. And once that credit is there, we’re confident their next order and experience on Careem will speak for itself.”

The promotion is available city-wide across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, with each customer eligible to submit one food delivery order during the campaign period.

The initiative comes as delivery platforms continue to expand beyond food into broader everyday services, with customer retention increasingly centred on integrated digital wallets, subscriptions and cross-platform rewards rather than price competition alone.

Taco Bell is set to return to the UAE after a 14-year absence, with Dubai expected to host the first restaurants as part of a wider Gulf expansion led by Americana Restaurants, marking the latest addition to the region’s increasingly competitive quick-service restaurant (QSR) market.

According to media reports, Americana Restaurants announced it has signed an exclusive development agreement with Taco Bell UK and Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, to relaunch the Mexican-inspired fast-food chain in the UAE before rolling it out across other GCC markets in phases. The companies have not disclosed opening dates or specific locations, although Dubai is expected to be the first city to welcome the brand back.

The move marks Taco Bell’s second attempt in the UAE. The brand previously operated several outlets, including restaurants at Dubai Mall, Deira City Centre and Mirdif City Centre, before exiting the market in 2012. Since then, consumer demand for international and Mexican-inspired dining concepts has grown significantly, with new entrants helping to broaden the category.

For Americana, the agreement strengthens its long-standing partnership with Yum! Brands, whose portfolio already includes KFC and Pizza Hut across the Middle East and North Africa. The addition of Taco Bell also diversifies Americana’s offering by entering the Mexican-inspired QSR segment, complementing its portfolio of global restaurant brands

Ripple has partnered with digital asset platform provider SettleMint to launch an integrated solution aimed at helping regulated financial institutions custody, issue and manage tokenised assets through a single platform.

The collaboration combines Ripple Custody’s institutional-grade digital asset custody infrastructure with SettleMint’s Digital Asset Lifecycle Platform (DALP), allowing banks, financial market infrastructure providers and sovereign entities to manage tokenised real-world assets across their entire lifecycle.

The partnership comes as financial institutions increasingly explore tokenisation as blockchain technology gains traction across traditional finance, with banks seeking integrated platforms that combine custody, issuance, compliance and servicing rather than relying on multiple vendors.

Unified platform for digital assets

Under the partnership, institutions will be able to securely custody digital assets while managing issuance, compliance, settlement and servicing from a single platform.

Ripple said its custody platform has expanded significantly over the past year through partnerships with Securosys and Figment, integration with Chainalysis and the acquisition of Palisade, broadening its institutional custody capabilities.

SettleMint’s DALP, meanwhile, is already being deployed across production and pilot programmes in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The platform enables regulated institutions to issue and manage tokenised real-world assets while maintaining governance and compliance controls.

Unlike standalone tokenisation tools, DALP manages the full lifecycle of digital assets after issuance, providing a unified operating platform for regulated financial institutions.

Asia rollout first

The two companies have begun offering the integrated solution in Asia and plan to expand into additional markets as institutional demand grows.

Fiona Murray, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Ripple, said financial institutions were increasingly looking for integrated digital asset infrastructure.

“Financial institutions across Asia Pacific are putting digital assets to work. They are asking how to do more without stitching together separate solutions for custody, issuance and governance. This partnership gives them the foundation to roll out digital assets and future-proof them from there: Ripple Custody to hold and govern the asset, and SettleMint to manage its entire lifecycle.”

Adam Popat, CEO of SettleMint, said the move reflects a broader shift towards blockchain-based capital markets.

“Global capital markets are moving fully on-chain, and that shift only works when digital asset custody and lifecycle management operate as one system rather than two. Combining Ripple Custody and DALP gives institutions that single foundation, and this partnership lets us bring it to regulated markets globally.”

Tokenisation market gathers pace

The partnership comes as tokenisation continues to gain momentum across global financial markets.

According to Boston Consulting Group’s The Future of Digital Assets report published in May 2026, tokenised real-world assets could reach $88tr by 2035 as financial institutions increasingly digitise traditional assets.

The report also warned that banks which fail to adapt to digital assets could see profits decline by as much as 30 per cent by 2035, while identifying tokenised funds, digital custody and automated collateral management as key future revenue opportunities for the sector.

Nepal’s rescue teams, helped by Chinese and Indian experts, stepped up efforts on Monday to reach hundreds of people believed to be stuck inside blocked hydropower project tunnels in the aftermath of last week’s Himalayan flood.

The unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris carved a trail of destruction in the country’s valley towns and villages, as well as across the border in China, on Wednesday, killing more than 900 people, with nearly 5,000 still missing.

A glacier collapse is thought to have triggered the disaster.

Hundreds of bodies, many unidentified, have been buried in shallow graves as they began decomposing in the humid weather in the plains of the Himalayan country after being swept down the mountains by the torrent.

Nepali officials said that the focus was on reaching the 933 workers believed to be trapped at 11 hydropower projects, including many who were working in about half a dozen tunnels, in the two hard-hit districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot.

Pictures and videos shared by rescue teams showed earth-moving equipment digging and shovelling mud and rocks under lights in the dark of the night as workers watched. Soldiers used torchlight in a big pit they had created to look for space to get into one tunnel.

The Nepali army said search-and-rescue teams were using controlled blasts, excavators and searchlights to clear water and mud and reach trapped people. Teams recovered three bodies after entering two tunnels, while other sections remained buried in mud and were still being searched, it said.

“A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels,” Nepali army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said. “Our main focus is on opening the tunnels.”

On Monday, Nepali authorities said 903 people were confirmed dead, with 4,247 missing, including the 933 at hydropower projects. On the Chinese side, authorities said 16 people were killed in Gyirong County and 546 were missing.

The Nepali foreign ministry said that about 590 foreign nationals from 39 countries were still missing. More than 10,000 people had been rescued from the flood-hit region, including 323 foreign nationals, it added.

The Red Cross has estimated that more than 90,000 people were likely to have been affected by the disaster, which China has linked to the effects of climate change.

There has been a boom in hydropower projects in Nepal since the turn of the century as the mountainous country sought to take advantage of its Himalayan water resources to address chronic domestic power shortages and exploit prospects for selling electricity to southern neighbour India.

Hydropower projects in Nepal’s mountains need tunnels to carry water through the steep terrain, allowing developers to exploit the sharp elevation drop between Himalayan rivers and powerhouses to generate electricity.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the flood was an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster” and it remained challenging to compile a complete assessment of the damage.

Beijing has said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries were unaccounted for in Tibet, near a key border crossing with Nepal.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that nearly 100 Chinese citizens have not been contactable on the Nepalese side.

A meeting of the Chinese cabinet urged all-out effort to search for the missing, the release of authoritative information, addressing risks and hidden dangers and further improvement of emergency management capabilities, state television CCTV said.

Although Nepal has said that it does not need foreign help in general rescue and search, it has leaned on giant neighbours India and China for their expertise in tunnel rescue.

Rescue operations have been suspended several times because of bad weather and concerns that a lake formed across the Nepal-China border by the disaster could trigger fresh flooding after it began overflowing into Nepal’s rivers.

On Monday, CCTV said that glaciers around an impact crater carved out near the site of last week’s glacier collapse on the Nepalese side remained at risk of collapse. Drone footage showed multiple landslide deposits along both riverbanks, posing a risk of further collapses and the formation of new lakes, it said.

Last week’s flood was “caused by glacier instability under the long-term effects of global warming”, the state broadcaster reported.

Two Nepali officials told Reuters that China had not shared much information on glacier risks and water levels following a meeting to strengthen cooperation earlier this year, and they feared that a lack of data-sharing could hamper future disaster preparedness.

The Chinese foreign ministry said that Beijing had continuously provided Nepal with meteorological and hydrological data and would continue to “strongly support” Nepal’s disaster relief efforts and safeguard the two countries’ common interests.