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Dubai Metro

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Dubai Metro
مترو دبي
File:Logo dubai metro.png
Overview
LocaleDubai, United Arab Emirates
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines2 under construction
3 proposed
Number of stations10 + 37 underconstruction
Operation
Began operation9/9/2009
Operator(s)Serco/Roads & Transport Authority
Technical
System length52.1 km (32.4 mi)
Track gauge1435 mm
ElectrificationThird rail, 750 V DC[1]

The Dubai Metro (in Arabic: مترو دبي) is a driverless, fully automated metro network in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. The Red Line is partly operational, the Green Line is still under construction, and further lines are planned. These first two lines run underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere.[2] All trains and stations are air conditioned with platform edge doors to make this possible.

The Dubai Metro is currently operated by a joint organisation of the Roads and Transport Authority and the Serco Group.

The first section of the Red Line, covering 10 stations, was ceremonially inaugurated at 9:09:09 PM on September 9, 2009, by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai,[3] with the line opening to the public at 6 AM on September 10.[4] The Dubai Metro is the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula.[5]

Once the 20 km Green line opens, the Dubai Metro will overtake the title of longest automated metro network from the Vancouver Skytrain, surpassing it by 3 km.

More than 110,000 people, which is nearly 10 per cent of Dubai’s population, used the Metro in its first two days of operation[6], and almost 367,000 passengers ride Dubai metro in its first week. Mall of the Emirates was the most used station with 7,911 passengers, followed by Khalid bin Al Waleed Station with 6,529 passengers.[7]

Construction

Jebel Ali Free Zone station under construction in May 2008

Planning of the Dubai Metro began under the directive of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who expected other projects to attract 15 million visitors to Dubai by 2010. The combination of a rapidly-growing population (expected to reach 3 million by 2017) and severe traffic congestion necessitated the building of an urban rail system to provide additional public transportation capacity, relieve motor traffic, and provide infrastructure for additional development. The Dubai Metro will have two lines – the red line and the green line. There will be 29 stations on the red line, including four underground stations. The green line will have 18 stations, seven of which are built under the ground. [8]

In May 2005 a AED 12.45 billion/US$ 3.4 billion design and build contract was awarded to the Dubai Rail Link (DURL) consortium made up of Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi.[9] The first phase (worth AED 15.5 billion/US$ 4.2 billion) covers 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the proposed network, including the Red Line between Al Rashidiya and the Jebel Ali Free Zone set for completion by September 2009 [10]and the Green Line from Al Qusais 2 to Al Jaddaf 1. This is to be completed by June 2010.[11] A second phase contract was subsequently signed in July 2006 and includes extensions to the initial routes. The Red Line will partially open on 9 September 2009 though according to an RTA official some of the stations will not open due to delays of the project. The construction cost of the Dubai Metro project has shot up by about 80 per cent from the original AED 15.5 billion/US$ 4.2 billion to AED 28 billion/US$ 7.6 billion. The authorities said the cost of the project did not overshoot. They attributed the increase in expenditure to the major changes in the scope and design of the project. The authorities also expects to generate AED 18 billion/US$ 4.9 billion in income over the next 10 years. But they speculate that the Metro would not be a profit-making enterprise since the fares would be subsidised.

Work officially commenced on the construction of the metro on March 21, 2006.[12] Still in February 2009, a top RTA Rail Agency official said "The $4.2 billion Dubai Metro project would be completed on schedule despite global crisis,"[13] however, two weeks before the planned opening the RTA had to admit that only 10 out of 29 metro station of the red line will be ready to open in time and the project plan slipped embarrassingly.[11] The remaining stations are now scheduled to open by May 2010.[14]

Lines

When completed, Dubai Metro will have 70 kilometres (43 mi) of lines, and 47 stations (including nine underground stations).[15] Two lines are under construction, and three more are planned. The Roads and Transport Authority's masterplan includes 320 km of metro lines and 270 km of tram lines up to 2020 to cater to the expected 3.3 million population of the city. There are plans for 268km of light rail tracks to act as a feeder system for the Metro. The fate of this entire network – which would reportedly be divided into Yellow, Orange, Magenta and Black lines – is now dependent on an economic recovery and private investment.[16]

Map of Dubai Metro. Stations in black ■ are open, stations in white □ are not. Dashed lines are under construction, dotted lines are planned.
Line Terminals Opened Length Extensions Stations
Red Line Al Rashidiya - Jebel Ali 9 Sep 2009 52.1 km 0 km 29
Green Line Al Qusais - Al Jaddaf End of 2010 (est.)[14] 23.9 km 18 km 20
Blue line Dubai International Airport - Al Maktoum International Airport 2014 (est.) 47.0 km 0 km n/a
Purple line Dubai International Airport - Al Maktoum International Airport 2012 (est.) 49.0 km 0 km 8
Total:   166 km 18 km 57

Under construction

Metro Dubai on its opening day
Red Line viaduct in February 2009
  • Green Line: 20 kilometres (12 mi) line with 22 stations from Festival City, through the city centre, Dubai International Airport Terminal 2 and the Airport Free Zone. This line was proposed to open in March 2010, however the Dubai RTA confirmed at the end of August 2009 that the Green Line will not open until June 2010, completing the first phase of the Dubai Metro.

The line was originally slated at 17km was increased by 7km to 23.9km. The line will be further extended by 11km from Al Jaddaf to International City under the Green Line extension project.[17]

Proposed

  • Purple Line: 49 kilometres (30 mi) Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport, along Al Khail Road.[18] Construction commenced in March 2009 and be operational by 2012. It will have about eight stations on the route, three with check in facilities. However The Dubai Airports claimed that this was unfeasible as it did not pass through many localities. They however suggested opting for a "central terminal" similar to ones in the US where trains leave from inside the airport to the other airport with trains also leaving to the city. The RTA have taken this into consideration.
  • Blue Line: 47 kilometres (29 mi) Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport, along Emirates Road.[18]. This was originally proposed for construction starting along with the Purple Line and completion in 2012. Due to the recession it was taken under reconsideration and the RTA have fixed a deadline of 2014 for completion of this line.
  • Yellow Line: Announced in April 2008[19]

The Dubai Metro will be operated by Serco under contract to the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority.[20] Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department expects the metro to carry 1.2 million passengers on an average day, 27,000 passengers per hour for each line, and 355 million passengers per year once both lines are fully operational. It is planned to transport 12% of total trips in Dubai.There are plans to built a total of 318 km of Metro lines by 2020, the purple line is expected to be operational in 2012.[19] Apart from this the 268 km Light rails are also being planned to built, which will serves as a feeders to Dubai Metro. The Al Sufouh Tram is one of the light rail plans. [19]

One issue for the new system will be how to reliably and comfortably get riders to their final destination if it is not at a metro station. The RTA has changed and added " feeder bus routes" which act like shuttles to and from major locations in and around the station area. There are bus and taxi lay byes constructed as well as drop off zones at each station for ease of passenger access.

List of stations

Rashidiya Station
Khaleed bin Waleed (Bur Juman) Station

Dubai Metro are composed of at-grade (G), elevated Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 (T1, T2 and T3, respectively), underground stations (U) and underground transfer station types (UT). Type 1 is the regular at-grade concourse station, Type 2 will be a regular elevated concourse station, and Type 3 will be an elevated special track station with an extra track to hold a non operational train. Underground transfer stations will be both accommodating the Red and Green lines for easy transfers.

Besides these differences, there will also be four themes to be used in the interiors of all stations: earth, water, fire and air. Earth stations will have a tan-brown colour effects; water will have blue-white colour effects; fire will get orange-red colour effects; and the air will have green colour effects. [21] [22]

  • Red Line: [21]
    • Rashidiya Station (Depot)
    • Emirates Airlines Station
    • Airport Terminal 3 Station - For all Emirates Flights
    • Airport Terminal 1 Station - For all Non-Emirates Flights
    • Al Garhoud Station (GICCO station)
    • Deira City Centre Station
    • Al Rigga Station
    • Union Square Station (Interchange, connecting with Green Line)
    • Khalid bin Al Waleed Station (Interchange, connecting with Green Line)
    • Al Karama Station
    • Al Jaffiliya Station
    • World Trade Centre Station
    • Emirates Towers Station
    • Financial Center Station
    • Burj Dubai / Dubai Mall Station
    • Business Bay Station
    • Al Quoz Station
    • First Gulf Bank Station
    • Mall of the Emirates Station
    • Sharaf DG Station
    • Dubai Internet City Station — future interchange to Palm Jumeirah Monorail
    • Nakheel Station
    • Dubai Marina Station
    • Jumeirah Lake Towers Station
    • Nakheel Harbor and Towers Station
    • Ibn Battuta Station
    • Energy Station
    • Jebel Ali Industrial Station
    • Jebel Ali / Jafza Station

Main Depot for the trains will be at Rashidiya just before the Rashidiya Station, while an auxiliary depot is located at Jebel Ali Port.


  • Green Line:[22]
    • Al Qusais 2 Station (T3)
    • Al Qusais 1 Station (T2)
    • Airport Free Zone Station (T2)
    • Al Nahda Station (T2)
    • Stadium Station (T2)
    • Al Quiadah Station (T2)
    • Abu Hail Station (T2)
    • Abu Baker Al Siddique Station (T2)
    • Salahuddin Station (U)
    • Union Square Station (UT, connecting to Red Line)
    • Baniyas Square Station (U)
    • Palm Deira Station (U)
    • Al Ras Station (U)
    • Al Ghubaiba Station (U)
    • Saeediya Station (U)
    • Khalid Bin Waleed Station (UT, connecting to Red Line)
    • Oud Metha Station (T2)
    • Health Care City Station (T2)
    • Jeddaf 1 Station (T2)
    • Jeddaf 2 Station (T2)

The train depot is located at Al Qusaias just before the Al Qusais 2 Station.

Corporate branding

Officials are negotiating with international and local companies over naming rights for 23 stations on the two lines. This corporate branding would be the first of its kind.[23]

Trains

The Trains on trial in Dubai - Feb 2009

Japanese manufacturer Kinki Sharyo is building a total of 87 five-car trains for the Red and Green lines.[24] They are designed to carry 643 seated and standing passengers, and unusually for a mass transit system, the trains will have three classes of accommodation: Gold Class, Women and Children class, and regular Silver Class (economy).[25] The first train was delivered to Dubai in March 2008.[24] The metro will have driverless operation and use third rail current collection. Trained wardens will accompany passengers to help with emergencies.[26]



Signaling

To permit fully-automated operation, Thales Rail Signalling Solutions is supplying its SelTrac IS communications-based train control and NetTrac central control technology. This is configured for a minimum headway of 90 sec. Maximum speed of the trains will be 90 km/h, giving a round-trip time of 2 h 23 min for the Red Line and 1 h 23 min for the Green Line.

Red Line trains will initially run every 7 minutes off-peak, with a minimum headway of 3 min 45 sec provided during the peaks, when 44 trainsets will be in service. From 2010, when 51 trains will be in service, the line will have a peak-hour capacity of 11,675 passengers per hour in each direction. The theoretical maximum design capacity is 25,720 passengers per hour, which would require 106 trains.

The Green Line will have an initial capacity of 6,395 passengers per hour per direction, with 16 trains in service. The design capacity of this route is put at 13,380 passengers per hour, with 60 trains in service.[27]

Incidents and accidents

On the first day of operation, one metro train broke down and the passengers had to wait for two hours for a second train to be picked up.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Specifications: Dubai Metro - Most Advanced Urban Rail Systems - Railway Technology". 090914 railway-technology.com
  2. ^ Roads & Transport Authority, UAE
  3. ^ "Dubai Metro Opens On Time But Over Budget". Sky News. 2009-09-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Dubai metro unlikely to speed business growth". Ameinfo. 2009-09-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Will metro change Dubai car culture?". BBC News. 2009-09-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090913/NATIONAL/709129836/1010
  7. ^ http://www.arabianbusiness.com/568061-almost-367000-passengers-ride-dubai-metro-in-first-week
  8. ^ "World's Longest Automated Unmanned Metro Opens in Dubai". Pravda.ru. 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  9. ^ Dubai metro contract awarded, Railway Gazette International 2005-07-01, retrieved 2008-03-15
  10. ^ Dubai RTA - Red Line Project as on 2007-09-09
  11. ^ a b "Ten key Dubai Metro stations set for launch". Gulf News. 2009-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Work begins on Dubai Metro project, Khaleej Times 2006-03-22, retrieved 2006-03-22.
  13. ^ "Dubai Metro on track despite global crisis". Arabian Business. 2009-01-02. Retrieved 2009-02-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ a b http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-6387-six_month_setback_for_dubai_metro_green_line/
  15. ^ "Shaikh Mohammad tours the Dubai Metro project". Gulf News. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2007-12-22. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/9/Pages/10092009/09112009_3bb5d0ac942140ef952e73cc9580c337.aspx
  17. ^ http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/9/Pages/16092009/09172009_ee94b1ddeb4e4522b3d696cf43512fbf.aspx
  18. ^ a b http://www.dubai-online.com/transport/metro.htm
  19. ^ a b c http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/dubai-metro/
  20. ^ Serco preferred bidder for Dubai metro operations contract, Railway Gazette International 2007-07-01, retrieved 2008-03-15
  21. ^ a b Dubai Rapid Link Consortium - Approved Red Line Project Model dtd. 5 Nov. 2006
  22. ^ a b Dubai Rapid Link Consortium - Approved Green Line Project Model dtd. 19 Nov. 2006
  23. ^ "Is Advertising the New Indicator for Emerging Markets?". Contrarian Profits. 2008-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
  24. ^ a b First Dubai metro train arrives, Railway Gazette International 2008-03-14, retrieved 2008-03-15.
  25. ^ "At a glance:Dubai Metro". Gulf News. 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2008-05-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Trained wardens will help people on Dubai Metro, Khaleej Times 2007-04-16
  27. ^ Dominic Ellis (2008-03-27). "Driverless trains to support a prosperous future". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2008-12-28. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Traffic_and_Transport/10347785.html

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dubai Metro.
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