Al Tayer Metro Station
Dubai is the most popular city of UAE and is famous worldwide for its up-to-date idea of life, luxury, shopping, and public transports. When it comes to travelling, the city can be pretty costly. What most people turn to for travelling on a budget and to save time is public transport. In Dubai, Public transport can come pretty handy for tourists, especially the metro. Mostly, children under the age of 5 can travel free of cost. It’s the cheapest means of transport in Dubai!
Dubai’s Metros are quite comfortable, luxurious and pretty modern in comparison to any other metro line. They comprise of various cabins, allotted for different types of passengers (these passengers may include handicapped passengers, those with gold cards, women, and children). Speaking of Metros in Dubai, currently there are a total of 49 metro stations in Dubai, out of which 9 are on red line, 20 on green line, and 7 for Expo 2020 line.
For 2021, Mohammed Al Tayer shares his plans of extending a new Metro route. The extension of this new route will be from the Jebel Ali Station on the Red Line to Expo Station 2020. The extension will be in commercial service from January 1st , 2021 and it will have four stations. These stations are;
- Jebel Ali Station
- The Gardens
- Discovery Gardens
- Al Furjan Stations
It was announced that besides these four stations, there will be three other stations and these three stations will be made accessible to the public later on.
Coverage:
All the four stations included in the route are upraised and elevated. Jebel Ali Station is a transition station with the Red Line. Jebel Ali station covers the area of about 8800 square meters and extends up to 150 meters in length. The station can accommodate around 320,000 travelers per day. The second station in line is The Gardens Station which has an enormous coverage as well. In terms of area, it covers around 8100 square meters and extends to 168 meters in length. The station can serve up to 125,000 customers per day. The next station, Discovery Gardens spans across 8600 square meters area and 168 meters in length. Whereas, the fourth station, Al Furjan station covers an area of 8400 square meters and 168 meters length. Both the stations assist around 139,770 passengers in total. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
Capacity:
The route 2020 has a total capacity of around 46,000 riders per hour, and that too, in both the directions. This means; the route can accommodate around 23,000 riders per hour and in each direction. Studies show that the Expo Station will be serving about 35,000 visitors on a daily basis during the weekdays, whereas, the number of visitors is expected to increase to 47,000 each day of the weekend.
Initial Time Table for the On Route Metro:
- The service is said to run between 5 am in the morning and midnight on Saturdays to Wednesdays.
- The service is said to be active from 5 am to 1 am on Thursdays and from 10 am to 1 am on Fridays.
- In total, there will be around six trains traveling each hour. The train will be serving the four enroute stations including Jebel Ali Station, The Gardens Station, Discovery Gardens Station and Al Furjan Station.
- The estimated waiting time between each train will be only 10 minutes.
- Collectively, a total of 19 buses will be at service at the four stations, which will be connecting the metro passengers with other areas.
- According to prediction, this new route will be serving an estimate of 125,000 passengers in a single day by 2021, which means there will be a rise to 275,000 passengers per day by the year 2030.
- The route will have the capacity to assist around 46,000 commuters each hour in both directions.
Important Announcement regarding Route 2020:
Mohammed Al Tayer has emphasized that the initial service of the 2020 route will be made public after the accomplishment and completion of the necessary operational trials, tests and experiments. These tests will be carried out in four stages:
- The first test is called ‘static testing’ which is designed for testing train cars and such other systems.
- The second test is called ‘moving test ‘on the track and is done without passengers just in case of unwanted accidents.
- After that comes the ‘pilot operational tests’ in which the efficiency of the performance is tested. This test ensures that the entire system is reliable and it also makes sure that the operational systems are stable.
- The last test is ‘the operational tests’. This test is carried out by the appointed train service operator. It is used to verify the readiness of the operator before the actual operation of the service. All these tests are compulsory, to ensure the reliability of the system along with the safety of the passengers, citizens and other tourists.
Fares and Ticket Pricings:
Journeys in Dubai Metros can be made by using credits that are added to the contactless card, also called the NOL card. These must be purchased before traveling in Metro. For these, there are passes available and they let you add credits to your NOL cards and also allow unlimited travel on the Metro. Fares for the new Al Tayer Metro are yet to be disclosed for Route 2020. Passengers will not be allowed to travel on the Dubai Metro and buses without these cards. However, there are different types of NOL cards.
- Red Tickets – for tourists and occasional users and can be used for 10 trips a day.
- Silver NOL Cards – for residents and tourists.
- Gold NOL Cards – for first class users and travelers who wish to acquire gold class carriages.
- Blue NOL Cards – personalized cards with your photograph. Suitable for students, senior citizens and the disabled.
The announcement of this new metro line in Dubai seems quite promising. Hopefully, travelling in Dubai will be made much more efficient and easier with the new Al Tayer metro line, and sure seems like an exciting prospect for residents and tourists alike!
