Ten key Dubai Metro stations set for launch

Dubai Dubai Metro operations will be launched on schedule on September 9 but only with the opening of 10 out of 29 stations, a senior official said.

"We are going to start the Metro operations as promised, but will open 10 key stations on the Red Line," Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), told a crowded press conference yesterday, quashing rumours of delays in launching the operations.

He said the remaining stations would open in batches in the coming few months, and all the stations on the Red Line will be operational by next February.

He also announced the Green Line would be delayed by three months as it will open in June next year instead of the earlier announced date of March 2010.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will officially launch the Metro on September 9.

The stations to be opened include: Al Rashidiya, Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, Deira City Centre, Al Rigga, Union Square, Khalid Bin Al Waleed (BurJuman), Al Jafiliya, Financial Centre, Mall of the Emirates and Nakheel Harbour and Tower.

Manifestation

"Launching of the Dubai Metro on September 9 is a true manifestation of the vision of Shaikh Mohammad to uplift the infrastructure of the emirate of Dubai," Al Tayer said.

He said the RTA vision, which is based on Dubai's Strategic Plan 2015 is now being realised.

"With the soft launching, the RTA is seeking to ensure the safety of Metro users, the integrity of the system and buildings, and the operational readiness of all rail systems and stations for the sake of which it conducted a phased start of operations on the same lines adopted everywhere in the world.

"The Dubai Metro project has been completed in a record-breaking period of less than four years since Shaikh Mohammad laid the foundation on March 21, 2006.

"Though some 90 per cent of stations are ready, we are not opening all of them because the property projects to be served by these stations have yet to be completed and no passenger demand is foreseen for the time being," he explained.

An example of this is the Jebel Ali Industrial station and Jafza station.

However, he did not comment why some stations, including Karama, Trade Centre, Emirates Towers, Burj Dubai, Business Bay, Al Quoz, Ibn Battuta Mall, Nakheel and Dubai Internet City, are not yet opening despite massive development around them.

"Construction of some stations has yet to be completed due to multiple complexities due to changed designs," he noted.

He said throughout the construction of the Metro, the RTA remained highly committed to the best global safety standards and sought the services of international agencies to assess the Metro's safety throughout all phases of the project.

The 10 stations have been selected based on various factors including population density in the area served by each station, availability of commercial activities in the vicinity of the station, availability of commercial government bodies in the nearby areas, the link with multi-storey car parks, the link with the other transport modes such as buses and water transport, technical readiness of the station, and the number of anticipated passengers at each station.

He said that the stations would be served with feeder buses for the passengers in the communities in the vicinity of the stations. More than 700 feeder buses have been deployed to serve these stations on well planned routes.

The Dubai Metro system is 76 kilometres long, consisting of two lines — the Red Line and Green Line — and the is deemed as the world's largest automated driverless Metro system.

Train Timing

The train operation time during Ramadan will be from 6am to 12 midnight from Saturday to Thursday and from 2pm to 12 midnight on Fridays.

The regular metro operation time after Ramadan will be from 6am to 11pm from Saturday to Thursday and from 2pm to 12midnight on Fridays. The train running time may be increase by one hour depending on the demand of passengers and monitoring the system for at least three months..

Dubai Metro service is set to run at 10 minute headway between the trains at the rate of six trains per hour with an intake of 3858 passengers per hour per directions while the volume of demand on the Red Line is anticipated at 3500 passenger per hour per direction in the initial months.

Initially some 11 trains will be operational on the tracks but there will be some 60 trains on the tracks once the system is fully operational next year.

Schedule: Train timings

The train operation time during Ramadan will be from 6am to midnight from Saturday to Thursday and from 2pm to midnight on Fridays.

The regular metro operation time after Ramadan will be from 6am to 11pm from Saturday to Thursday and from 2pm to midnight on Fridays.

The train running time may be increased by one hour depending on the demand of passengers and after monitoring the system for at least three months.

Dubai Metro service is set to run at 10 minute intervals between trains for a rate of six trains per hour with an intake of 3,858 passengers per hour per direction while the volume of demand on the Red Line is anticipated at 3,500 passengers per hour per direction in the initial months.

Initially 11 trains will be operational on the tracks but there will be 60 trains on the tracks once the system is fully operational next year.