Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday attended the trial run for the Metro green line.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, was also present.
The trial run started from Dubai Healthcare city, passing through the Khalid Bin Walid, Ghubaiba, Al Ras, the Union station where the Metro’s green and red lines meet, the Qiyada station, and concluded in the Etisalat station in Qusais.
Shaikh Mohammad stopped at each station and listened to an explanation by Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), on the capacity of each station and their interior designs.
Al Tayer said that the Dubai Healthcare City station will have a capacity of 11 thousand passengers per hour in each direction, which has a length of 130 metres and width of 30 metres. The station will also have elevators and escalators.
Shaikh Mohammad also toured the Union station, where both green and red lines meet. It is the largest metro station, with a total area of 25 thousand square metres and has a capacity of 22,000 passengers per hour and is comprised of two floors. The two storied station has a length of 230 metres, width of 50 metres and a depth of 18 metres under the ground.
Shaikh Mohammad also was briefed on the Qiyada station (near Dubai Police station) by Al Tayer, which has a capcity of 11 thousand passengers per hour in each direction. The station has a length of 130 metres and a width of 30 metres. Just like other stations the station will also be equipped with elevators and escalators.
The green line is set to be completed on August 2011, and will be able to transport 22,000 passengers an hour.
Lieutenant general Dahi Khalfan, Dubai Police Chief, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and other senior officials were also present.
The last stop was at Etisalat Station in Al Qusais.
Shaikh Mohammad received a painting by a group of children and a memento marking the first anniversary of the the operation of the Metro’s red line, and another memento on the trail operation of the Green line.
Shaikh Mohammad expressed his satisfaction with this achievement, which adds a new feather to the UAE’s cap of accomplishments. He congratulated those in charge of completing the metro according to the set timeframe. Shaikh Mohammad stressed that the implementation of strategic development projects are in progress with firm will and determination.
Trail run on the Green Line of the Dubai metro is being conducted successfully as the construction work on stations has been accelerated, said a senior official.
“We have completed the train tracks on the Green Line and are doing trial run to test the Line, trains and related systems,” a senior official at the RTA told Gulf News. He said the trial run started about two months ago.
The Green Line has 18 stations, including 12 elevated and six underground. Some 7.9km of the total length of 23 km long Green Line is underground.
There is plan to extend the Green Line by 20 km from Al Jaddaf to Dubai Academic City through International City. Once extended it will have total length of 43km.
— With additional inputs from Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter
