Metro Dubai

Metro Dubai is one of the best metros in the world. It has a most modern service and technology. I met Abdalmajed Alkhajah, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board, and he answered my questions.

I asked first about the trains and what time they start and what days. Trains start from 6am to 11pm, Saturday to Thursday and from 2pm to midnight on Fridays. During Ramadan the time is different; train times are from 6am to midnight from Saturday to Thursday and 2pm to midnight on Fridays. Most people think that they will wait a long time for the train to arrive. Because of that I asked Mr.Abdallmajed and he told me that metro passengers will not have to wait for trains for a long time as the train will arrive at a station with an interval of 10 minutes. However, the train’s headway will be reduced to 3 to 4 minutes during peak hours in 2010. In addition, I asked him about what the passengers use when they need to get the train, and he told me that they can use “Nol card” which was introduced by the RTA as part of a new unified fare collection system for all modes of transport. Moreover, there are 4 parts of the card and they can use it in any mode of transport, like water transport and buses, including Metro Dubai, while if you don’t have that card and you want to use the cash, you will not be able to use it. I asked him if children can travel free and is there any discount for students and senior citizens, because I heard about that and he told me “Yes, children up to five years old and up to 90 cm tall can travel free of charge. People with special needs, the elderly and senior citizens (60 years and above) and students will receive special discounted fares and you can check that in the website of RTA”. I asked him about the kind of services in the metro, and he told me that Dubai Metro stations have been designed to serve like mini shopping centres. They have food outlets, convenience stores, airline booking and travel offices, ATMs and even bank counters. There will also be machines for soft drinks, newspapers and Metro tickets/cards. I asked him about the first station when I come from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, because I live in Abu Dhabi and I want to try it once and he told me that Jebel Ali Free Zone Station (Jafza) is the first station for passengers coming from Abu Dhabi. However, they can park their cars free at the Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station and take the Metro. Most people want to know about safety so I asked him if the train is safe to ride as we see a lot of swerving curves in the track and he told me that, yes, the Metro is designed according to international safety standards.

The Metro is a fully automatic control system. The metro can run up and down the track safely.

I asked Mr.Abdalmajeed about the future plans "We have a far vision for the Metro; we will develop it as much as we can to be comfortable for all people”, he said. In addition, the tracks for the Metro will be longer than now. Finally, I asked him if there is cooperation between cities like between Dubai and AbuDhabi and he said “why not?”

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www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Metro

www.rta.ae