UAE | Traffic and Transport
Abu Dhabi to build metro rail system
Abu Dhabi will build a metro system as part of a master public transport plan, a senior official said yesterday.
- By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 May 10, 2006
- The Abu Dhabi Metro to be linked to the Dubai Metro
- There will be a comprehensive network of public transport buses within Abu Dhabi
- Bus links to other emirates will be introduced
- Private taxis will be phased out gradually
- Five to seven taxi companies to be introduced within eight months
Dubai: Abu Dhabi will build a metro system as part of a master public transport plan, a senior official said yesterday.
"The Abu Dhabi Metro project is currently under study and it will soon be unveiled," said Ahmad Rashid Al Rashidi, Director of Public Transport Department (PTD) in Abu Dhabi.
"You will soon hear a good news," he said while replying to a Gulf News question on when the metro project will be launched. The project details and cost will be announced after completion of the study.
Al Rashidi said the Abu Dhabi Metro would be linked to the Dubai Metro to provide a vital link and ensure smooth travel for metro users between the two emirates. "We will also have the option of extending it to other cities in Abu Dhabi as well as to link it to railway systems in other GCC states," he said.
Al Rashidi said the PTD is working in cooperation with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai to build Abu Dhabi's public transport system. "We are learning from their experience of the Dubai Metro and other public transport projects," he said at a ceremony to launch RTA's air-conditioned bus shelters.
Al Rashidi said between five to seven taxi companies will be introduced within eight months while existing private taxi services will be phased out.
New bus shelters
He said the PTD is working on the masterplan for buses and other modes of public transport with an aim to cut growth of cars by 50 per cent in the future.
"After the success of the express bus service between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we are going to introduce similar services between Al Ain and Dubai, and Abu Dhabi and Al Ain," Al Rashidi said.
"A comprehensive network of public transport within Abu Dhabi will be in place very soon," he said.
Abu Dhabi's transport chief said the PTD will also build around 500 air-conditioned bus stop shelters in Abu Dhabi within the next 18 months.
Comprehensive network: New fleet of taxis to ply capital's roads soon
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