The Al Hoota Cave, at the foot of the Hajar Mountains, begins operating the new train for visitors this month following the attraction's annual closure during the months of July and August for an environmental rest.

The custom designed train, built entirely at Severn-Lamb’s manufacturing plant in Warwickshire, UK, carries up to 48 passengers and offers design, operational and environmental advantages over the existing train.

It uses electricity on demand, eliminating the need for batteries and the down time for recharging, improvements which will increase the potential number of daily visitors from 760 to 2,000.

The train is operated from one of two control cabins at either end of the unit, separated from the main cabins by a glass partition.

Passengers board and disembark through sliding doors on either side of the two carriages.

Wheelchair access is also incorporated into the cabin design, while passenger information is provided via audio and flat screen systems throughout the train.