today is the day

It took 49 months, 30000 workers and Dh28 billion to meet the city’s need for an alternative mode of transport – one that will ease congestion and boost economic activity. Tonight, when the first Metro train rolls out of the station, Dubai will turn another page of history. A dream will be realised – 9.9.9 will stay etched in memory.

From the front-page of the Gulf News this morning

The inaugural whizz down the tracks takes place tonight, well for the VIPs that is, the rest of us will get to ride the train from tomorrow, the 10th. The part I am most excited about is the link to the airport, this is one of the 10 stations that will be open in the first phase. I feel this will certainly save many residents, and visitors, time and effort in getting both there and back, quickly and easily, without the hassle of parking at the airport itself. Certainly once all the “kinks” (if there are any) are ironed out, and all the stations are open, I will definitely make regular use of the metro.



Some other facts I have collected from the various sources are:

• Each train has 5 cabins; one gold section, one section for ladies and then 3 others for everyone else.
• The train itself is completely automatic and driver-less. Once it has safely docked or arrived at the station the doors between the train and the waiting area will then open. This is to prevent anyone from being able to get onto the track when the train is not in the station, and also in this environment it will keep the station cool and dust free.
• The ticketing system is by means of a card, similar I guess to the Oyster system used in the UK, but here it will be called a “Nol” card. The cards will be available in 4 options: silver (valid for 5 years); blue (personalised with a photo); gold (for using the gold class cabin) and red (valid for a maximum of 10 journeys).
• A single trip must be completed within 180 minutes or the ticket will expire.
• All the cards, except the red, have an e-purse rechargeable system which will allow the user keep up to 500 dirhams worth of credit on the card.
• The fares will vary (see the table) from just under a dirham (or 20 us cents) for seniors on a short trip to 270 dirhams for a 30-day pass for all zones.
• During peak times there will be a train every 3.45 minutes, during off-peak the maximum wait will be 7.30 minutes.
• Trains will also have wi-fi and cell phone coverage at all times.
• Eating and drinking on the trains is prohibited, and you are not allowed to bring your bicycle on board either.
• Staions will have a range of stores, including food courts and ATMs.
• Property around the stations is said to have increased in value by 30% according to the paper.

The original budget of Dh15,5 billion (about $4.1bn) increased to a cost of around Dh28 billion ($7.5bn) due to changes in the design. Only 10 of the final 29 stations will be open on time, today, as well as 41km of track compared to the final total of 52.1km. Initially the main or red line is the only one that will be operational, with the completion of the green line expected in 2011 or so. Another two additional lines, the purple and blue, are being looked at as well. Combined with the buses (land and water) the total integrated system is intended to reduce congestion by 35 percent. RTA’s goal is to carry 4.5 MILLION passengers every day by 2020. Pretty impressive.

One other piece of useless information for you, they have built an automatic car park at Ibn Battuta mall which will house 765 cars in a computerised lot. It will take 160 seconds to get your car back and currently this will be free.

And with that I will say Au Revoir. We are off to France on vacation the day after tomorrow, so I will see you when I get back. Have a great 2 weeks.

image 1 & 2: from the Gulf News
image 3: from the Xpress