Railway system may run 99 trains

The mass transport railway system for Dubai is expected to transport around 43,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

The capacity of the Light Railway Train system may increase to 50,400 passengers per hour in each direction. This will meet the demand for public transport in the emirate well after 2017.

The noise-free, and environmentally friendly system will have two lines - the first, called the Red Line, which will stretch around 50 km from the Sharjah border to Jebel Ali, informed sources told Gulf News yesterday.

The 35-station line will comprise 29 elevated stations and the rest will be underground, they added.

The second, the Green Line, will go around 19 km from Rashidiya Bus Station to the Dubai Healthcare City. It will comprise 22 stations of which five elevated will be and 17 underground.

"Each kilometre of the elevated system will cost Dh100 million, but this will be less in the case of subway or ground level stretches of track. Engineers expect that the network would operate with a maintenance budget of just over Dh50 million per year."

Construction works are expected to start as early as next year under the supervision of a committee chaired by Qasim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Municipality.

The municipality will work out plans for the lines, stations, power and communication systems within 18 months.

The Dh15 billion project will be implemented in two phases, they added. The first is expected to open by June 2010 and the second by May 2013.

The costs may increase by Dh2.1 billion if the Green Line is extended to the Dubai Festival City, according to a preliminary study conducted to assess the project, and its options.

The fare is proposed to be Dh2 to Dh3 per person, which will cover 148 per cent of the operating and the maintenance expenses which are estimated at Dh570 million per annum. The extra 48 per cent will be devoted to pay off the capital expenses.

"The number of trains required to transport the expected number of commuters on the two lines will be around 99, with five compartments each. They will run on a two-minute headway basis. Each platform is expected to stretch for 30 metres to accommodate a train of five compartments," the sources said.

"The trains are proposed to travel automatically without an operator on board. The lightweight trains will be of a streamlined design and will feature some changes that we are likely to demand," they added.

The estimated usage at peak hours is around 26,000 passengers per hour and the average number of passengers each day is projected at 274,000. Annually, there will be 88 million commuters.

The municipality has chosen the rapid rail transit system as a strategic alternative, relying on a comprehensive study of commuter numbers increasing over the next 20 years. The study shows that the number of vehicles will increase to three times the present number soon.

It also estimates that benefits of the project outweigh the costs, especially because Dubai's population is expected to reach three million in 2020. It will take nearly 50 years to pay off the total costs incurred, it is estimated.

The fare and route
* The fare is proposed to be Dh2 to Dh3 per person.

* The trains are proposed to travel automatically without an operator on board.

* Of the two lines proposed, the Red Line will stretch around 50 km from the Sharjah border to Jebel Ali.

* The second, the Green Line, will go around 19 km from Rashidiya Bus Station to the Dubai Healthcare City.

* It is expected to transport around 43,000 passengers per hour in each direction.