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