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DUBAI / WAM
A delegation from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) headed by Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, visited France to check on the progress of work in the manufacturing of 50 new trains for the Dubai Metro.
These trains will be supplied by the French Alstom Company as part of the Route 2020 Project. The delegation also reviewed the latest developments in transit modes and smart systems in a bid to realise the 10x initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It is aimed at sustaining the competitiveness of Dubai and rendering it a city for the future through innovative ideas and solutions that run 10 years ahead of other cosmopolitan cities.
The Alstom Company has been given the contract to supply 50 trains, 15 of which will serve the Expo 2020 and the other 35 will upgrade the level of service of Dubai Metro. “The RTA has introduced some additions and modifications to the interior design of the metro carriages such as dedicating the last carriage for ladies and children and leaving part of the first carriage for Gold Class and other carriages for Silver Class. Seats will be transversal in the Gold Class, and longitudinal in the Silver Class as well as in the Ladies and Children Carriage.
“Work on the Route 2020 Project is progressing according to the approved schedule and the achievement rate had exceeded 12 percent. The project contractor is currently inserting piles at a depth of 25 to 30 metres, and work had started in casting concrete pillars of the metro via a duct. This
stage would be a milestone in the progress chart of the project works marking the emergence of the project components, which would be visible to road users and inhabitants of nearby areas,†added Al Tayer.
The Route 2020 extends approximately 15 km from Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station on the Red Line, comprising an 11.8-km elevated track and 3.2-km underground track. It has seven stations, including an interchange station, one station at the Expo site, 3 elevated stations and 2 underground stations. The capacity of the route is 46,000 riders per hour in both directions (23,000 riders per hour, per direction). The ridership of the route is expected to hit 125,000 per day by 2020 and the number is expected to shoot up to 275,000 per day by 2030.
Al Tayer met government officials and several international firms specialised in transportation and smart systems in the city of Lyon.