Homeowners affected by Dubai Metro operations receive compensation

Dubai: The Roads & Transport Authority in Dubai (RTA) has disbursed Dh4.25 million to owners of 17 houses bordering Al Rashidiya Metro Depot believed to have been affected by the Metro operation and maintenance works at the Depot.

“The implementation of these measures was in response to a site survey carried out by a work team of the RTA which concluded that some houses were affected by noises resulting from the squeaking & friction of train wheels when negotiating turns during tests carried out at Al Rashidiya Metro Depot,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA.

Al Tayer confirmed that the homeowners received Dh250,000 each as compensation as some houses were reported have been impacted by the sound of train horns.

Al Tayer, however, assured the homeowners that RTA has been implementing a policy abandoning the use of horns and other alerting devices for more than a year.

He further said that RTA is committed to ensure the comfort and stability of residents of houses nearby the metro Depot.

Hence, plans of constructing sound barriers—that will also doubly work to ensure the homeowners’ privacy—are already being discussed and may materialise in the near future.

Indicators showed that the amount of noise monitored in Rashidiya Depot in the middle of last January was actually lower than the permissible rate during the construction period which also conformed to the standards of the Dubai Municipality.

The RTA has recently signed a joint agreement with the German GERB International company for assessing and measuring the impact of noise caused by the movement of trains, including the resulting vibrations, along with its impacts on the buildings along the Red Line.

Al Tayer noted that all houses inspected sustained several cracks which were attributable to several factors including vibrations resulting from the movement of trains back and forth in the station.