The National Transport Authority (NTA) chaired an international conference on the use of tunnels for both rail and road on the 24th May 2010 in Abu Dhabi. The Conference was attended by Abu Dhabi Municipality and some 200 international organizations including Japanese, Korean, Austrian, French, German, American, GCC countries and a host of international practitioners and leaders in the field of tunneling and underground construction.

Given the nature of transport tunnels and their specialist nature, extent of their cost and potential risks involved, the NTA highlighted the importance of safety risk assessments throughout the design and construction of tunnels, also the need for deploying highly skilled and competent consultants and contractors to undertake such safety-critical work. The NTA was represented by the Chairman of the Conference, Eng. Bassam Mansour, Railway Industry Expert, who stated that “ if designed and constructed right, tunnels can be extremely effective in reducing traffic congestions, provide better land and airspace use, and can achieve real long term savings particularly with respect to avoidance of visual intrusion, utility diversions and traffic diversions when compared to other construction methods”.  The NTA raised the importance of public consultation with construction sites neighbours and key stakeholders as a key success factor of tunnel construction.

The NTA reviewed the types of railway tunnels used internationally and identified the influencing factors that impact on the choice of railway tunnels including:

• Examining the choice of electrification methods in railway tunnels
• Comparing fire and life systems in railway tunnels
• Considering operation and maintenance of railway tunnels
Various innovative tunnelling techniques were discussed and debated including the New Austrian Method (NTAM), Immerse Tube Technology, and Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) and cut-and-cover methods.  Other aspects that were reviewed included ground conditions evaluations, water proofing systems, and ventilation systems.  The NTA emphasised the importance of electrical and maintenance clearances in railway tunnels and highlighted the critical importance of railway structure gauge and its impact on the size of the tunnel diameter chosen. Moreover, the NTA identified the issues of emergency evacuation and fast response to incident in tunnels as paramount.  
The NTA is responsible for the Land Transport and Maritime Transport Sectors in the UAE and currently in the process of designing Rail Regulations regime for the UAE and preparing Railway National standards for the UAE.