Etihad Rail has announced the official speaker line-up for Global Rail 2025, the region’s largest mobility and transportation exhibition, which will take place in Abu Dhabi from 30 September to 2 October. The press conference confirmed participation from senior government officials, global CEOs, and transport leaders representing more than 100 nationalities.
The event is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court, and is supported by His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Etihad Rail. It is being organised in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI) and dmg events.
Speakers at the press conference included H.E. Sheikh Nasser Al Qasemi, Assistant Undersecretary for Infrastructure and Transport at MoEI; Ahmed Al Musawa Al Hashemi, CEO of Hafeet Rail and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Global Rail; Salman Abou Hamzeh, Senior Vice President at dmg events; and Kholoud Almazrouei, Director of Special Projects at Etihad Rail.
Global Rail 2025 aims to unite the international transport community, fostering cross-border collaboration and innovation across mobility, logistics, and infrastructure. The three-day exhibition is expected to attract more than 20,000 participants and will feature strategic dialogues, project showcases, and technical exchanges. This year’s edition spans four halls and hosts over 200 exhibitors across 14 key sectors, including infrastructure, rolling stock, smart mobility, and financing. Over 70 companies are exhibiting for the first time, alongside 11 national rail operators such as Etihad Rail, Hafeet Rail, Qatar Rail, Korea Railways Corporation, India Railways, East Japan Railways, and Renfe Operadora. Collectively, the exhibitors represent a combined annual turnover exceeding US$140 billion.
Under the theme “Driving the Future of Transport and Global Connectivity”, Global Rail 2025 reflects the industry’s commitment to accelerating multimodal mobility, forging infrastructure partnerships, and advancing sustainable transport solutions. With global passenger traffic projected to reach 9.5 billion by 2025, the event will serve as a crucial platform for shaping the transport networks of the future.
The event will host more than 20 ministerial delegations and senior leaders from leading transport, logistics, and infrastructure companies, including AECOM, Alstom, Asyad, Bayanat, CAF, DP World, Jacobs, Hitachi Rail, MTR Corporation, Siemens Mobility, Škoda Group, and Talgo. Two parallel conferences will run throughout the exhibition. The Strategic Conference will feature over 55 sessions covering high-speed rail delivery, intermodal operations, sustainable financing, governance, interoperability, automation, and city planning, while the Technical Conference will focus on digitalisation, asset management, engineering, and operational innovation with contributions from global experts and R&D leaders.
The Global Rail Innovation Award, now in its second edition, will also take place during the event. With an AED 1 million grant, the award recognises transformative transport and mobility solutions and received 242 submissions this year, more than triple the entries from its inaugural edition.
Global Rail 2025 will host nine country pavilions, including Austria, Germany, India, Jordan, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom. An International Projects Pavilion will showcase billion-dollar infrastructure initiatives from Afghanistan, Chad, Kenya, and Uzbekistan. The Finance Pavilion will connect developers and operators with leading financiers such as First Abu Dhabi Bank, AIIB, ICBC, and Emirates NBD, while the Innovation Hub will spotlight AI, automation, and future mobility solutions from over 25 pioneering companies. For the first time, the exhibition will feature a Youth Hackathon in partnership with UAE universities, giving students the opportunity to tackle real-world transport challenges under industry mentorship.
