The UAE has come up with a plan to link the entire country through a railway system -- trans-emirates rail network -- a move that is likely to ease traffic congestion and reduce the maintenance charges of roads and other projects in the country.

The country's ministerial council for services approved the project. Chaired by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs, the council passed a federal law setting up the Union Railways Company, whose major business will be rail transportation in the country.

According to UAE's government news agency, Wam, the network, which will see a double track rail service built from Ruwais in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah, is expected to cost over USD three billion. The details of the cost for the network were however not released.

According to Nahyan, tenders for the project will be offered by 2015 and it will be completed in two phases. The first phase will focus mainly on creating an industrial railway, which will take nearly five years to complete.

The second phase will be a passenger rail line that links all the seven emirates. When the project is completed, there would be around 1,000 km of track running from the coat to Saudi border. Ministry of Public Works must look at ways to ease traffic congestion on Dubai-Sharjah road by building more roads and fast-tracking the trans-emirates rail network, members of the Federal National Council had recently asked.

Dubai's metro system is not connected to the project, the minister said adding that once completed the network will link with similar projects in neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council countries.