The morning sun spills through wide windows into the modern and comfortable carriages.
Outside, the desert stretches endlessly into the distance as the train heads out through the Abu Dhabi desert.
This week, The National was granted access to one of the Etihad Rail passenger trains that will soon be up and running across the UAE.
For a country built around cars, motorways and air travel, the introduction of a passenger service represents a shift in how people may move between cities.
On board, that change is clear early in the journey. As the train accelerates to around 200kph, the increase in speed is barely perceptible inside the carriage. Conversation remains easy and the congested roads a distant memory.
The trip covered a stretch of line from Al Faya depot to Mohamed bin Zayed City Station – one of the anchor stations on the network that is neari
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