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Dubai Metro/Railway |
The go-ahead was given in February 2004 for construction of the 14.3 billion Dirham 69.2km two-line, fully-automatic light metro in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will open in two phases - the first in 2009 and the second about three years later. Tenders close in June and construction work is due to start in October 2005. The 50km Red Line will link Rashidiya in the northeast and Jebel Ali Port in the southwest. Just over 45km of the line will be elevated with the rest underground in the heart of the city.
The 19.2km Green Line will serve the old city and areas on the eastern side of Dubai Creek, including two terminals at Dubai International Airport. It too will run underground in the city centre. All stations will have platform screen doors. Transfer stations between the two lines will be located at Al Ittihad Square and the Bur Juman mall.
Services will be operated by a fleet of 99 five-car trains each seating 400 passengers. A choice has yet to be made between steel wheels and rubber tyres. Each train will include first-class accommodation and private sections for women and children.
Electronic passenger information screens will display train journey and other information. The control system will allow two-minute headways. The Red Line is designed to cater for 27,000 passengers/h and the Green Line, 18,000 passengers/h. According to Mr Nasser Ahmed Saeed, general coordinator for the Dubai Rail Project, the fully-operational system will carry about 1.2 million passengers each working day with an annual total of about 355 million.
An integrated smart card ticketing system will be introduced, and some bus stops, taxi stations, and park-and-ride facilities will be relocated to complement the metro. Saeed added that the estimated annual operating costs of Dirham 570 million would be "easily met" through fares and advertising revenue.