Dubai: Four express trains will serve Dubai Metro’s Red Line from October, cutting the total travel time by 10 minutes.
UAE | General
Dubai to launch express trains from October
Four trains will serve in the trial phase for five months
- By Shafaat Shahbandari, Staff Reporter
- Published: 17:54 July 30, 2012
- Image Credit: Gulf News archives
- The 13 stations where the trains will stop at are: Al Rashidiya, Emirates, Al Rigga, Union, Khalid Bin Waleed, Al Karama, Al Jafiliya, Emirates Towers, Noor Islamic Bank, First Gulf Bank, Dubai Internet City, Ibn Battuta, and Jebel Ali Station.
The trains, two each from Rashidiya and Jebel Ali, will run during morning peak hours and will stop only at 13 out of 27 stations on the Red Line.
The first two trains will start from both sides at 5:30am while the next two trains will start at 5:40am, following which the normal services will begin at 5:50am.
The service is being introduced on a trial basis for five months and is likely to be continued depending on the feedback.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will launch a survey to get commuters’ feedback about the service and if they see a demand there could be more such trains.
“We are launching a campaign to inform people about the new service, we will also launch a study to find out what people feel about the service and if they want changes or more trains, we will do accordingly,” said Adnan Al Hammadi, CEO of RTA’s Rail Agency.
Infographic
By the look of it, the service is most likely to be permanent and it could even be extended to evening peak hours if there is demand.
The initiative, modelled after similar services in New York and Chicago, will help cut total travel time on the Red Line by 10 minutes.
However, the trains won’t run faster and will continue to operate at its normal commercial speed of 43 km/h.
“The trains will not travel faster but will cut time by skipping as many as 14 stations which are not busy during morning peak hours,” added Al Hammadi.
The stations were decided based on early morning passenger data - those busiest during the morning peak hours have been chosen.
The 13 stations where the trains will stop at are: Al Rashidiya, Emirates, Al Rigga, Union, Khalid Bin Waleed, Al Karama, Al Jafiliya, Emirates Towers, Noor Islamic Bank, First Gulf Bank, Dubai Internet City, Ibn Battuta, and Jebel Ali Station.
Commuters will be informed about the services and which stops the trains will make through announcements so that people don’t board the wrong train.
As a ripple effect of the service, commuters using the less frequented stations will also benefit, as their waiting times would be reduced.
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