New Website and New Blog

Please note that I have rebuilt the Dubai Metro website and it also now incorporates this blog and so this will be the last post at this location. Please check it out here:

Dubai Metro Website

Dubai Metro Blog

Dubai Transport Zones Increase From 5 to 7

In light of the opening of the green line of the Dubai Metro in the coming weeks, the zoning of public transport in Dubai has been changed to incorporate more zones. Currently there are 5 zones covering all the public transport areas but this will be increased to 7 with effect from 12 August 2011.

The main changes are in and around the central business districts and will impact the following stations:

• Khalid bin al Waleed (Burjuman)
• Karama
• Jaffilia
• World Trade Center
• Emirates Towers
• Financial Centre
• Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall
• Business Bay

If you use any of these stations you may be affected by a slight increase in your fare as you may now be travelling between more zones. These stations were previously in Zone 5, which has now been split into two zones and becomes zones 5 and 6.

I have tried to incorporate the new metro zones in the attached metro map but as usual it is quite difficult to get the precise information about the new zones from the RTA website as they have not posted it yet so I have used a few sources to build this map and hope it is correct.

Dubai Metro Ramadan Station Timings Extended

As has become customary in the last few years since the Dubai Metro opened, the opening hours of the stations will be extended during the duration of Ramadan. The extended opening hours for the metro are as follows:

Saturday to Wednesday
5.50am until Midnight

Thursday
5.50am until 1am

Friday
1pm until 1am

Although these are the timings for the station openings, if you are looking to get the last train back from one end of the Red line to the other then you need to watch for the time of the last train. As it takes approximately 1 hour to get from one end to the other you will need to get to the station early enough to get the last train to where you are travelling. Feeder buses are running until 1am too.

In my opinion these timings are still much earlier than what is required by the general public and do not reflect similar timings in other parts of the world where the last trains go much later, but the RTA has not changed it's stance on this since opening so it seems that this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Green Line Still Set to Open Early September

So Mattar al Tayer, chairman of the RTA, has confirmed that the Dubai Metro green line is still on schedule to open in early September, possibly at the start of the Eid al Fitr holiday. A fixed date has not been given as work is still ongoing and no doubt we will hear nearer the time when it will open and which stations.

Check the map below for the green line stations.

Purple Line Still Part of the Plans for Dubai Metro

So it seems that the Dubai metro purple line is still part of the plans for the metro in the long term. The purple line was in the master plans at the beginning but was put on hold when the financial crisis hit. But Matthar al Tayer is quoted as saying that the purple line is still in the plans for the next 5-10 years.

The purple line was due to run from Dubai International Airport to Maktoum International Airport along the route of the Al Khail Road. With the airport being delayed it was inevitable that the purple line would also be delayed but hopefully recent slow progress will continue to bring it back into play.

Dubai Metro Map

So as the green line of the Dubai Metro is due to open in September, I have created a new Dubai Metro map that includes all of the stations on the red and green lines. While 2 stations are yet to open on the red line, there are also 2 stations that will not open with the green line opening as the areas around them are not completely developed, even though the stations themselves are actually ready (Creek & Jadaf).

So the map shows just the names of the stations on each line including which are not yet open. Check it out on my Dubai Metro website or else open the image in this post.  

Metro Newspaper Launched

So a new newspaper called 'Read' has come out today which is aimed at the Dubai Metro passengers on the red line. The weekly paper, which will be issued every Sunday is billed as an infotainment title with information about events and happenings close to the Dubai Metro station plus information on celebrity visitors to Dubai, how the Metro system works and also movie listings.

Many worldwide metro or underground systems have a similar paper that is intended for those people who travel on public transport including the 'Metro' newspaper, a free sheet, which is available to pick up for users of the London Underground. Whether the 'Read' newspaper will be as successful as that is yet to be seen, but indeed they have a slightly different slant right now as the 'Metro' is more news based and issued daily.

80,000 copies of Read magazine will be issued each Sunday and it is available in 27 stations on the Red Line.

Did you pick up a copy of Read today? If so what did you think about it?
  

Dubai Metro Green Line to Open September

So finally they have announced that the Dubai metro green line will be open in September this year. This is not so much of a delay as we may have first thought so hopefully this date will actually come through. 16 stations on the green line will be open and the timings will be the same as the red line. All the stations will be open except al Jadpaf and Creek and the interchange stations with the red line are Union and Khalid bin al Waleed.

Dubai Metro: Green Line Possibly Set to Open in September

So, according to Arabian Business who spoke to Abdul Younes at the RTA, the Green Line of the Dubai Metro is due to be completed in August and opened some time in September. No date has been set for this which I have to say leads me to believe that it is unlikely it will happen. How often have the RTA set dates for the opening of stations (and the Green Line in fact) - only for those daters to be postponed as they crept ever closer? I don't think I know any other country that would just announce dates and then delay them so frequently. Don't get me wrong, I think the Metro is a real boost to the Emirates public transport system but why lift up people's hopes only to dash them again? It seems to be a true local tradition to do such a thing - so many times I have heard people say - yes that will be ready in 2 weeks... 2 weeks later nothing happens etc etc and the Metro is just the same. If they could manage expectations they wouldn't have a country full of disappointed people - tell us the Green Line will not open until January and we can work with that. But tell us it opens in September, we make plans around that and you are only set to disappoint.

I guess time will tell but if there was gambling allowed in this country I wouldn't bet my last dirham on it.

Dubai Metro Scoops 3rd Edition of Princess Haya Award (press release)

Roads & Transport Authority: The Dubai Metro has scooped the 3^rdedition of Princess Haya bint Al Hussain Award for Special Education, in the category of the Best Educational Research, in recognition of the research conducted by the Rail Planning and Development Department, Rail Agency, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs. The study focuses on the needs of people with special needs when using the metro and the range of facilities provided to them right from the station through to the end of the journey.
Adnan Al Hammadi, CEO of Rail Agency, commended the continuing success made by the Dubai Metro, seen as one of the major infrastructure and transport projects worldwide, particularly as it managed over the last couple of years to bag a host of global awards such as Cityscape & Gulf Traffic Awards, Best Infrastructure Project Award in the Middle East's Architectural Contest as well as other awards including the Middle East Railway Projects Award and Mead International Award (about quality in projects category). 

"RTA seeks to have itself always branded with excellence through applying the best international practices and pursuing high quality operational mechanism, thus obviously contributing to strengthening employees' confidence while carrying out the set plans with a blend of innovation and distinction. RTA sets the approach adopted by senior leaderships of the community as a strong basis for the implementation of its plans and vision for excellence and innovation in the quest for meeting the needs, aspirations and requirements of various community segments, whom it believes are instrumental for the success of any realized initiative or project", Al Hammadi added. 

"RTA places the people with special needs as a priority before implementing any project concerned with mass transport whether by using taxis, public buses or metro through establishing firm and clear safety principles regarding the provision of all services and facilities needed by this category when using these transport modes with a view to integrating them, being an essential component, into the community on equal footing with the other community members", the CEO of the Rail Agency emphasized.

Al Hammadi dedicated this Award to His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, RTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director, in acknowledgment of his continuing encouragement and unlimited support to the Departments and Agencies to take part in such important competitions which would add yet further successes and allow work to be performed at the highest level of excellence. He also commended the effort made by the concerned team at the Rail Planning and Development Department for participation in the important competitions held for adding further global and local awards to the Metro.

It is noteworthy that the Rail Agency's Rail Planning and Development Department had taken keen interest over the last period on compiling this analytical study to identify the needs and requirements of people with special needs when using the metro with the aim of epitomizing RTA's vision of "safe and smooth transport for all". It was later apparent from the findings that about 87% of the people with special needs were satisfied with the facilities and services available in Dubai Metro.

-Ends-

© Press Release 2011

from Roads & Transport Authority

Dubai Metro: Why Isn't The Ladies Carriage Pink?

So I often travel in the ladies only carriage on the Dubai Metro and every time I do there is an incident of men getting on and not realising that the carriage they are in is for ladies only. Quite often the policemen that man the stations will point it out to the guys and tell them to move to the next carriage, or else if there is an attendant on the train and they are not holed up in the Gold Class carriage then they will also move them on, but half of the time no-one seems to be there to put them right.

However, I am not going to totally blame the men for this oversight, as it is not completely obvious, although there are stickers in the carriage and above the doors when you get in (and of course the fact that only ladies are in there), that they should not be there. What would be much more obvious is if they had made the insides of the carriage pink! At the moment it is just a kind of turquoise blue which is a subtle change to the sky blue of the general carriages. Too subtle I say. Making the carriages pink inside would send a clear message to the occupants that it is for Women Only! Not only that, it would look nice and be a pleasant environment to travel in. Just my opinion anyway... :-)

Dubai Metro - Focus on Nakheel Metro Station

When the RTA announced that they were allowing Dubai Metro stations to be sponsored by companies who would then be able to name the stations, I'm not so sure that anyone really thought of the implications of this in terms of people knowing where they were going when they were on the Dubai Metro or people knowing where a station was located.

Case in point is Nakheel Metro station. If you were asked to guess where that was then I am not sure that you would be able to pinpoint its location.

Anyway, the answer is that Nakheel metro station would have been better named 'Emirates Golf Club' or 'AUD'. Now you realise where it is I assume. But obviously giving the stations useful location names came second best to making some money out of naming them.

So Nakheel Metro station is a great stop for quite a number of places. Obviously, as above, if you are visiting the Emirates Golf Club (although it might not be hugely feasible to carry a set of clubs on the Metro but I have seen someone with a small bag of a few clubs who was obviously going to the driving range) then it is the right stop, so the huge crowds that visit the Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai Ladies Masters would do well to use the Metro as parking can be busy at these events.

Also, there are a number of towers within Dubai Media City that are within about a 5 minute walk of Nakheel Metro station including Al Shatha Tower, Al Thuraya towers 1 and 2 and also the Media One hotel. Of course it depends on how far you are prepared to walk (and maybe how hot it is) but there are many other offices close by.

Added to this, events that are held in Dubai Media City Amphitheatre are within reach of the Metro station so that would be a great option if you are wanting to come and have a few beverages. In particular the entrance to the Dubai Jazz Festival that happens for 10 days every year is only a 5 minute walk from the station.

I have to say I am not a huge fan of feeder buses for the prime reason that whenever I have tried to use them they have been so infrequent that you might as well jump in a taxi. Also they take their time wending their way through different stops and I for one cannot find great information about their timetables. As well as that it seems that most bus stops do not have any shade. I tried to have a quick look for feeder bus information when I was going through Nakheel station a couple of times yesterday but there was nothing inside and the only bus I saw was a number 88 that said 'Deira City Centre' on the back. Why would I want to take a bus from Nakheel Metro station to Deira City Centre is anyone's guess.

New Combination Card for Dubai Metro

The RTA is teaming up with Emirates NBD and Visa to come up with a combination contactless card to pay for Dubai Transport services. It will link the Nol card with Visa debit and credit cards so that commuters will have the opportunity to top up their Nol cards automatically.

See here for the full story.

Video Taken From Dubai Metro

Dubai Metro Green Line Will Be Extended

Although it has been announced that the opening of the Dubai Metro green line will be delayed until late in 2011 (if then), this has been tempered by the news that the green line will be extended further out to include International City and the Fruit and Vegetable Market at Ras al Khor. To be honest, this should have happened in the first place in my opinion. Having lived in International City for 3 years it is one place that would really appreciate a Dubai Metro station. There are thousands of individuals and families living there, most of whom are on low incomes, who would be exactly they type of people who would use the metro. At the moment the bus goes through International City but it takes a long while to reach Rashidiya so that it almost makes it not worth using.

When Will The Green Line Open?

So the Dubai Metro Green Line was supposed to open in August this year (2011) and indeed only a few weeks ago the RTA were still saying that it would open then. But as always seems to happen, all of a sudden they announce that there will be a delay and it won't actually open until the last quarter of the year. Given that it is still 6 months or so away, do I believe that will actually be the case, well I am not sure as it seems like these things keep getting delayed. Cuts have already been made to the Dubai Metro running costs so I feel it is likely that either it will only open next year or else only some of the stations will open at the end of this year.

New Blog For Dubai Metro

In August/September 2009 I setup a website to give information to the public about the Dubai Metro, as no official website had been set up. I was one of the first websites to do this and I did it off my own back, with no monetary support. The website is still running today in conjunction with my Dubai Metro Twitter account and I felt that now was the right time to also start an occasional blog about the Dubai Metro.