UAE’s First Road Rail Ambulance to Reach Remote Areas

A specially built ambulance capable of travelling on both railway tracks and conventional roads is being introduced in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to improve emergency access in remote desert areas.
Manufactured by Naffco, the vehicle integrates standard American ambulance specifications with a front-mounted rail gear system that allows it to transition from tyres to steel railway wheels. Once positioned on the tracks, the rail gear deploys and lifts the tyres off the ground, enabling the ambulance to operate directly along railway lines across rough terrain and heavy sand.
The rollout coincides with the rapid expansion of the regional rail network, centred on Etihad Rail’s 900-kilometre freight corridor linking Ghuweifat on the Saudi border to Fujairah. An upcoming passenger service is expected to connect 11 stations across all seven emirates in phases this year. The broader Gulf railway project aims to link all six GCC nations by December 2030.
In addition to its rail capability, the ambulance is equipped with standard emergency medical infrastructure, including oxygen and vacuum systems, DC and AC power outlets, insulated windows, foldable steps, and waste and sharps containers. Core medical equipment includes a main stretcher, stair chair, scoop and folding stretchers, an automated external defibrillator, a portable ventilator, a spine board, a traction splint, suction devices, and trauma and first-aid kits.
The dual-mode design is intended to allow emergency responders to reach patients along rail corridors and in isolated desert stretches where road access may be limited, while maintaining full clinical functionality equivalent to conventional ambulances.