Dubai Metro
Encyclopedia
The Dubai Metro is a driverless, fully automated
Automatic train operation
Automatic train operation ensures partial or complete automatic train piloting and driverless functions.Most systems elect to maintain a driver to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies....

 metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 network in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

 city of Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

. The Red Line
Red Line (Dubai Metro)
The Red Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first section was inaugurated on 9 September 2009. Construction was declared complete on 28 April 2010.. The line has 29 stations spanning , which have been opened in phases from 2009 to 2011...

 and Green Line
Green Line (Dubai Metro)
The Green Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently opened in a limited phase, with 16 stations open from Etisalat to Dubai Healthcare City, though when completely operational; will have 18 stations spanning...

 are operational, with three further lines are planned. These first two lines run underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere (Elevated railway
Elevated railway
An elevated railway is a form of rapid transit railway with the tracks built above street level on some form of viaduct or other steel or concrete structure. The railway concerned may be constructed according to the standard gauge, narrow gauge, light rail, monorail or suspension railway system...

). All trains and stations are air conditioned with platform edge doors to make this possible.

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
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...

, Ruler of Dubai, with the line opening to the public at 6 AM on September 10. The Dubai Metro is the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...

. 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. The Dubai Metro carried 10 million passengers from launch on 9 September 2009 to 9 February 2010 with 11 stations operational on the Red Line.

At 75 km, the Dubai Metro is frequently cited as the world's longest fully automated metro network.

Construction

Planning of the Dubai Metro began under the directive of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...

 who expected other projects to attract 15 million visitors to Dubai by 2010. The combination of a rapidly growing population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 (expected to reach 3 million by 2017) and severe traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...

 congestion necessitated the building of an urban rail system to provide additional public transportation capacity, relieve motor traffic, and provide infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

 for additional development.

In May 2005, a AED
United Arab Emirates dirham
The dirham is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The ISO 4217 code for the United Arab Emirates dirham is AED. Unofficial abbreviations include DH or Dhs. The dirham is subdivided into 100 ....

 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 Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

, Mitsubishi Corporation
Mitsubishi Corporation
is Japan's largest trading company , a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 50,000 people and has seven business segments including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, food and more....

, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Turkish firm Yapı Merkezi. 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
Red Line (Dubai Metro)
The Red Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first section was inaugurated on 9 September 2009. Construction was declared complete on 28 April 2010.. The line has 29 stations spanning , which have been opened in phases from 2009 to 2011...

 between Al Rashidiya
Al Rashidiya
Al Rashidiya is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Al Rashidiya is located south of Dubai International Airport in Deira, the eastern region of Dubai. The locality is bounded to the north by route D 89 , the west by route D 62 and the east by route E 311...

 and the Jebel Ali Free Zone
Jebel Ali Free Zone
Jebel Ali Free Zone is a free economic zone located in the Jebel Ali area at the far western end of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, near Abu Dhabi...

 set for completion by September 2009 and the Green Line
Green Line (Dubai Metro)
The Green Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently opened in a limited phase, with 16 stations open from Etisalat to Dubai Healthcare City, though when completely operational; will have 18 stations spanning...

 from Al Qusais
Al Qusais
Al Qusais or Al Gusais is a large community in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . It is located in the Deira area of east Dubai. Al Qusais borders the localities of Hor Al Anz and Al Twar and is further subdivided into residential and industrial localities.Al Qusais residential areas are subdivided...

 2 to Al Jaddaf
Al Jaddaf
Al Jaddaf , also spelled Al Jadaf, is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Located in western Dubai in Bur Dubai, Al Jaddaf is bordered to the north and east by the Dubai Creek, to the south by Zabeel, and to the west by Umm Hurair 2....

 1. This was to be completed by June 2010. A second phase contract was subsequently signed in July 2006 and includes extensions to the initial routes. The Red Line partially opened at 9 minutes and 9 seconds past 9 PM on September 9, 2009 (9/9/9 9:9:9), inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Construction Cost Increase

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 contradicted this, saying that 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 expect 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.

Construction Delays

Work officially commenced on the construction of the metro on March 21, 2006. 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. However only 10 out of 29 metro stations of the red line opened on 9 September 2009.

Construction of the 18 stations on the red line and another 18 on the green line restarted on 7 February 2010, according to contractors, after a settlement was reached with a Japanese-led consortium over disputed payments of about $ 2 billion-$ 3 billion. Construction of all 29 metro stations on the Red Line was declared complete on April 28, 2010 by the acting chief of the RTA Rail Agency.

Seven more stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line opened on 30 April 2010. Ten new trains were pressed into service, giving a total of 22 trains in service when the stations opened. The seven stations are, Emirates Station, Airport Terminal 1 Station, Dubai Internet City (TECOM) Station, Al Karama Station, Emirates Towers Station, Marina Station and Ibn Battuta Station. In addition to this, a further three stations were opened on 15 May 2010; Al Quoz Station, GGICO Station and World Trade Center Station. Furthermore, Business Bay Station, First Gulf Bank (Burj Al Arab/Gold and Diamond Park) Station, Sharaf DG (Al Barsha) Station, Nakheel (Emirates Golf Club) Station and Jumeirah Lake Towers Station were opened on October 15, 2010. After much delay, Jebel Ali Station, the terminus of the Red Line on the Abu Dhabi side was opened on March 11, 2011, whilst the remaining stations on the Red Line will be opened by the end of the first half of 2012. No date has been set for the opening of the final two stations on the Green Line.

Operation

The Dubai Metro is operated by Serco under contract to the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority.

Before launch, Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department expected 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 provide transport for 12% of all trips in Dubai. After the first month of operation (on a limited network), the actual monthly ridership was 1,740,578, which equates to under 60,000 passengers/day. After the opening of more stations in May 2010, ridership surged to 103,002 passengers/day and reached 130,000/day by the beginning of October 2010, though still short of the originally anticipated 140,000 passengers/day., ridership is expected to rise to 170,000/day by the end of 2010. When the Green Line opened on September 9, 2011, ridership on the Red Line was noted as 180,000/day, with the new line expected to add as much as 120,000/day to the network.

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

In addition 268 km of light rail lines are also planned, these will serve as feeders to the Dubai Metro. The Al Sufouh Tramway
Al Sufouh Tramway
Al Sufouh Tramway is a tramway being built in Al Sufouh, Dubai. It will run along Al Sufouh Road from Dubai Marina to the Burj Al Arab and the Mall of the Emirates. It is expected to interchange with three stations of Dubai Metro's Red Line.The trains will comprise of First Class , and a carriage...

 is one of the light rail plans.

Lines



The first two lines of the Dubai Metro will have 70 kilometres (43 mi) of lines, and 47 stations (including nine underground stations).

The Roads and Transport Authority's masterplan includes 320 km of metro lines up to 2020 to cater to the expected 3.3 million population of the city. There are plans for 268 km 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.


Proposed

In 2011, RTA stated that there are no "immediate plans" to build the Blue and Purple lines "in the next five or six years".
  • Purple Line
    Purple Line (Dubai Metro)
    The Purple Line is a proposed line of the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The purple line will run between Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport, along Al Khail Road...

    : along Al Khail Road. 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
    Blue Line (Dubai Metro)
    The Blue Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.It is currently approved for construction. This was originally proposed for construction starting along with the Purple Line and completion in 2012...

    : along Emirates Road.
  • Yellow Line: Announced in April 2008
  • Red Line Extension: 15.5 km and six new stations, terminating at the border with Abu Dhabi
    Abu Dhabi (emirate)
    Abu Dhabi, officially the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, , is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates . It is the capital of UAE and is the largest emirate by area , and second-largest by population , accounting for approximately 86% of the total land area of the UAE...

    . No dates for completion announced.
  • Green Line Extension: The line could be further extended by 11 km from Al Jaddaf
    Al Jaddaf
    Al Jaddaf , also spelled Al Jadaf, is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Located in western Dubai in Bur Dubai, Al Jaddaf is bordered to the north and east by the Dubai Creek, to the south by Zabeel, and to the west by Umm Hurair 2....

     to International City
    International city
    An international city is an autonomous or semi-autonomous city-state that is separate from the direct supervision of a single nation-state.-Rationale for establishment:International cities had either had one or both of the following characteristics:...

     under the Green Line extension project.



Summary of Complete and Proposed Lines

Line Terminals Original Proposed
Completion Date
Construction Started Opened Length Stations Trip Time Average Speed Cost Cost/Km US$
Red
Line
Red Line (Dubai Metro)
The Red Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first section was inaugurated on 9 September 2009. Construction was declared complete on 28 April 2010.. The line has 29 stations spanning , which have been opened in phases from 2009 to 2011...

Al Rashidiya
Al Rashidiya
Al Rashidiya is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Al Rashidiya is located south of Dubai International Airport in Deira, the eastern region of Dubai. The locality is bounded to the north by route D 89 , the west by route D 62 and the east by route E 311...

 -
Jebel Ali
Jebel Ali
Jebel Ali is a port town, located 35 kilometres southwest of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates . The village has a thriving expatriate community with over 300 residents. The area is also home to "5,500 companies from 120 countries"....

Sept 2009 August 2005 Sept 2009 (10 stations)
April 2010(+19 stations)
52.1km
5km underground
29
(27 open)
68 - 69 minutes 46 km/hr AED28.0b
US$7.6b
AED375.3m
US$102.2m
Green Line
Green Line (Dubai Metro)
The Green Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently opened in a limited phase, with 16 stations open from Etisalat to Dubai Healthcare City, though when completely operational; will have 18 stations spanning...

Al Qusais
Al Qusais
Al Qusais or Al Gusais is a large community in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . It is located in the Deira area of east Dubai. Al Qusais borders the localities of Hor Al Anz and Al Twar and is further subdivided into residential and industrial localities.Al Qusais residential areas are subdivided...

 -
Al Jaddaf
Al Jaddaf
Al Jaddaf , also spelled Al Jadaf, is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Located in western Dubai in Bur Dubai, Al Jaddaf is bordered to the north and east by the Dubai Creek, to the south by Zabeel, and to the west by Umm Hurair 2....

March 2010 July 2006 9 Sep 2011 22.5km 8km underground
18
(16 open)
38 - 39 minutes 35 km/hr
Purple Line
Purple Line (Dubai Metro)
The Purple Line is a proposed line of the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The purple line will run between Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport, along Al Khail Road...

Dubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...

 -
Al Maktoum International Airport
by 2012 No immediate plans Not Open 49km 8
(0 open)
unknown unknown US$2.73bn 55.7m
Blue Line
Blue Line (Dubai Metro)
The Blue Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.It is currently approved for construction. This was originally proposed for construction starting along with the Purple Line and completion in 2012...

Dubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...

 -
Al Maktoum International Airport
by 2011 No immediate plans Not Open 47km 18? unknown unknown unknown unknown

Virtual game/tour

The software development company Olive Global has been contracted by the RTA to build a virtual simulation model of the Dubai Metro. This simulation permits the player to choose a character and either play a game where the player attempts to get around the metro system as quickly as possible, or simply tour four metro stations; Jebel Ali Station (42) and Business Bay Station on the Red Line, and Al Nahda Station and Union Station on the Green Line. This virtual simulation is up and running on the RTA website http://virtualtransport.rta.ae/Take_The_Tour.aspx.

List of stations

Dubai Metro is 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 is a regular elevated concourse station, and Type 3 is an elevated special track station with an extra track to hold a non operational train. Underground transfer stations will be accommodating both the Red and Green lines for easy transfers.

Besides these differences, there are four themes used in the interiors of the stations: earth, water, fire and air. Earth stations have a tan-brown colour effects; water has blue-white colour effects; fire has orange-red colour effects; and the air has green colour effects.
  • Red Line
    Red Line (Dubai Metro)
    The Red Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first section was inaugurated on 9 September 2009. Construction was declared complete on 28 April 2010.. The line has 29 stations spanning , which have been opened in phases from 2009 to 2011...

    :
    • 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 (GGICO station)
      GGICO
      The GGICO station on the Dubai Metro Red Line commonly known as Garhoud Station opened on 15 May 2010....

    • Deira City Centre Station
    • Al Rigga Station
    • Union Station (Interchange, connecting with Green Line)
    • Khalid bin Al Waleed Station (Interchange, connecting with Green Line)
    • Al Karama Station
    • Al Jafiliya Station
    • World Trade Centre Station
    • Emirates Towers
      Emirates Towers
      The Emirates Towers complex contains the Emirates Office Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. The two towers, which rise to and , respectively, stand as the 12th- and 29th-tallest buildings in the world. The two towers are connected by a 9,000 m² two-storey retail complex known as "The...

       Station
    • Financial Centre Station
    • Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall Station
    • Business Bay Station
    • Noor Islamic Bank
      Noor Islamic Bank
      Noor Islamic Bank was established in 2006 in Dubai, and is a Shari’a compliant commercial bank, owned by Emirates Investment Authority and Noor Investment Group LLC. It has a paid-up capital of USD 1 billion...

       Station (Al Quoz
      Al Quoz
      Al Quoz , or Al Goze, is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Al Quoz is located in western Dubai. It is bordered to the north by Al Wasl and to the west by Umm Al Sheif, Al Manara and Al Safa...

      )
    • First Gulf Bank Station
    • Mall of the Emirates
      Mall of the Emirates
      The Mall of the Emirates is a shopping mall in the Al Barsha district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was developed by Majid Al Futtaim Properties under the leadership of its CEO, Peter Walichnowski, who was also the developer of "Bluewater" near London, Europe's most successful shopping mall....

       Station
    • Sharaf DG Station
    • Dubai Internet City Station
    • Nakheel Station
    • Dubai Marina
      Dubai Marina
      Dubai Marina is a district in the heart of what has become known as "new Dubai" in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Marina is a canal city, carved along a two mile stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline. When the entire development is complete, it will accommodate more than 120,000 people in...

       Station
    • Jumeirah Lake Towers
      Jumeirah Lake Towers
      The Jumeirah Lake Towers is a huge development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates which consists of a 79 towers being constructed along the edges of four artificial lakes as well as the JLT Embankment of 8 tower facing Jumeirah Islands. The lakes will be completely filled by end of 2009...

       Station
    • Nakheel Harbor and Towers Station
    • Ibn Battuta Station
    • Energy Station
    • Jebel Ali Industrial Station
    • Jebel Ali / Jafza Station


The 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
    Green Line (Dubai Metro)
    The Green Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently opened in a limited phase, with 16 stations open from Etisalat to Dubai Healthcare City, though when completely operational; will have 18 stations spanning...

    :
    • Etisalat Station (T3)
    • Al Qusais 1 Station (T2)
    • Dubai 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)
    • Salah Al Din Station (U)
    • Union 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 Al Waleed Station (UT, connecting to Red Line)
    • Oud Metha Station (T2)
    • Health Care City Station (T2)
    • Al Jedaf 1 Station (T2)
    • Creek Station (T2)


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

Corporate branding

Officials are negotiating with international and local companies over naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...

 for 23 stations on the two lines. This corporate branding
Corporate branding
Corporate branding is the practice of using a company's name as a product brand name. It is an attempt to use corporate brand equity to create product brand recognition. It is a type of family branding or umbrella brand. Disney, for example, includes the word "Disney" in the name of many of its...

 is the first of its kind.

Trains

Japanese manufacturer Kinki Sharyo
Kinki Sharyo
is an Osaka, Japan-based manufacturer of railroad vehicles. It is an affiliate company of Kintetsu Corporation.In business since 1920 and renamed The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd in 1945...

 built a total of 87 five-car trains for the Red and Green lines. They are designed to carry 643 seated and standing passengers, and unusually for a mass transit system, the trains have three classes of accommodation: Gold Class, Women and Children class, and regular Silver Class (economy). The first train was delivered to Dubai in March 2008. The metro has driverless operation and uses third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...

 current collection. Trained wardens accompany passengers to help with emergencies.

Signaling

To permit fully automated operation, Thales Rail Signalling Solutions
Thales Rail Signalling Solutions
THALES Rail Signalling Solutions Inc. is a subsidiary of THALES Group. TAS supplies transportation automation solutions for railway from its head office in Paris and railway business divisional center in Stuttgart, Germany, Vienna, Austria, and mass transit business divisional center in Toronto,...

 is supplying its SelTrac
SelTrac
SELTrac is a digital signalling technology used to control the movements of rail vehicles originally developed by Standard Elektrik Lorenz . It was originally developed for the Krauss-Maffei Transurban automated guideway transit system developed in the 1970s, and moved to the ICTS vehicle when the...

 IS communications-based train control and NetTrac central control technology. This is configured for a minimum headway
Headway
Headway is a measurement of the distance/time between vehicles in a transit system. The precise definition varies depending on the application, but it is most commonly measured as the distance from the tip of one vehicle to the tip of the next one behind it, expressed as the time it will take for...

 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
Red Line (Dubai Metro)
The Red Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first section was inaugurated on 9 September 2009. Construction was declared complete on 28 April 2010.. The line has 29 stations spanning , which have been opened in phases from 2009 to 2011...

 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
Green Line (Dubai Metro)
The Green Line is one of the two lines on the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently opened in a limited phase, with 16 stations open from Etisalat to Dubai Healthcare City, though when completely operational; will have 18 stations spanning...

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.

Over 280,000 passengers used the Dubai Metro during the first week of its operation.

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.

On 28 February 2010, thousands of commuters were affected after part of Dubai Metro's Red Line was closed after a small fire on the track. A section of the Red Line between Al Jafiliya Station near Za'abeel Park and Terminal 3 Station was shut at around 7pm and remained closed until Monday morning. Trains were evacuated at Khalid Bin Waleed Station, Union Square Station and Al Rigga Station. A Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) spokesman confirmed there was smoke on the underground track between Union Square and Khalid Bin Waleed Stations. However, RTA officials remained tight-lipped about what had caused the incident.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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