Integrated transport system planned

Dubai Municipality will introduce a common metro and bus fare policy as the Dubai Metro network will be integrated with the existing public transport system, the director-general of the municipality said yesterday.

"Passengers will be able to buy just one ticket which will allow them to travel both on the metro and buses," said Qasim Sultan.

He said the train system would be linked to public transport buses and abra (water taxi) as well.

A total of 87 trains comprising five carriages each will run on two lines the Red and the Green.

Each train will run at a maximum speed of 110km per hour. It will cover the Red Line in 60 minutes and take 25 minutes on the Green Line. Every train will have a first class carriage and a dedicated compartment for ladies and children.

"We have designed the train to attract all segments of society. We will educate people on minimising the use of their cars and use the mass transit system," said Sultan.

Every train will carry about 580 passengers at a time. The fully operational system will carry about 1.85 million passengers each working day with an annual total of 650 million passengers. Each hour, about 32,000 passengers are expected to travel on the Red Line and about 22,000 on the Green Line.

Waiting time between each train will be 160 seconds. This will be reduced to 90 seconds during peak hours.

There will be 43 stations 29 on the Red Line and 14 on the Green Line. Each station will have car parking facility, taxi stand and public bus service. Passengers will be able to use their own cars, buses or taxis to reach the stations.

Replying to a question, Sultan said the municipality does not have plans to extend the Dubai Metro to other emirates. "However, there will be a station at Jebel Ali near Abu Dhabi and Al Qusais near Sharjah and it can be linked with other rail projects if introduced by other emirates," he said.