Dubai: Passengers happily hopped on the new Dubai Tram when it opened for passenger service at 6:30am on Wednesday, following its inauguration by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, on Tuesday night.
Residents and visitors have thronged the new mode of mass transport, eager to have a look and feel of the high-tech tram on its first day of public service.
Tram operations, which serve New Dubai's highly urbanised areas of Dubai Marina and Al Sufouh, have rolled smoothly, with a headway of 10 minutes in the morning peak hours.
The trams will operate for 19 hours a day, Saturday to Thursday, from 6.30am to 1:30am, and from 9am to 1:30am on Friday, according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
The system has 11 stops dotting across the 10.6-km network.
Each tram can accommodate up to 405 passengers in seven carriages, with a Gold cabin, two cabins for women and children and four Silver cabins.
A tram ride on Silver class costs Dh3, irrespective of the distance travelled. The fare is double on the Gold class.