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The Metro ... readying for the Green Line debut.

Metro Green line to be flagged off

01 September 2011

THE much-awaited Dubai Metro Green Line is set for official launch early this month (September 9). It spans 23 km and comprises 16 stations, in addition to the transfer stations Union and Khalid bin Al Waleed stations, shared with the Red Line.

All stations will be up and running except Al Jadaf and Creek stations, due to the non-completion of the property projects that they were designed to serve, although both stations are ready for operation, said Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

He stated that the completion of the Dubai Metro project epitomises RTA Strategic Plan, which was aligned with the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 (infrastructure sector), aimed at providing integrated roads and transit systems ensuring smooth mobility and highest safety levels to all network users.

The 16 stations to be opened on the Green Line are Etisalat Station, situated at Al Qusais near Emirates Road; which is the starting point of the Green Line. The station is linked with a multi-level Park-and-Ride terminal with a capacity to house 2,350 vehicles as well as a bus station.

“The design of the station provides sufficient space for public buses to feed the station and ensures a smooth flow of a large number of buses at a time. The parking lot is also fitted with air-conditioned footbridges linking with the other side of the road, and all essential safety standards are in place to ensure smooth passenger movement within the facility,” said Al Tayer.

The second station is Al Qusais, situated near the Ministry of Education and the General Department of Dubai Civil Defence as well as Al Tawar Center, which is a hub for several government services.

Next comes the Airport Free Zone Station, which serves Dubai Airport Terminal Two and the Dubai Airport Free Zone. The fourth is Al Nahda Station located adjacent to the Ministry of Public Works and the Union Cooperative Society. The fifth is the Stadium Station near Al Ahli Club, and the sixth is Al Qiyadah Station on Al Ittihad Road near the Dubai Police General Headquarters. The seventh is Abu Hail Station, which will serve a host of public schools, commercial centres and businesses. Next is Abu Baker Al Siddique Station, which is situated near Al Muraqqabat Police Station and several commercial centres, hotels and business outlets.

The Green Line moves through an underground passage extending 8 km, starting with Salah Uddin Station, which is the ninth one, following which the Green and Red lines intersect at Union Station, which is considered the largest underground metro station in the world, spanning an area of 25,000 sq m with a capacity to handle about 22,000 passengers per hour. The station comprises two levels and measures 230 m in length, 50 m in width and 18 m in depth. It accommodates business and service outlets for the metro riders and has two entry points fitted with elevators and escalators. Four tunnels branch out of the Union Square Station linking up with Baniyas Square and Salah Uddin stations on the Green Line as well as Khalid bin Al Waleed and Al Rigga stations on the Red Line.

The 10th station on the Green Line is Baniyas Square Station, which serves a densely populated and high business traffic area incorporating Nayef Souk and a large number of hotels and business outlets.

The 11th is Palm Deira Station, followed by Al Ras and Al Ghubaiba stations, which feature a typical UAE traditional architectural design. The design concept revolves around employing the architectural traditional elements used in antique buildings, such as wind towers (brajeel), oriels (mashrabia), alleyways (sukaik), internal arches and others through replicating them in an enhanced manner, while addressing the aesthetic and technical dimensions of those elements such that the heritage-inspired stations would look like a natural expansion of the traditional suqs in the locality, the Heritage and Diving Village, and the historic control towers dotting the locality.

The entrances of the stations at the ground level have been designed to match the traditional architectural setting of the area and integrate with the design of the Dubai Creek Shores Development Project, which has the same theme. The two stations serve heavily populated areas, trading outlets and banks visited by plenty of visitors.

The 14th is Al Fahidi Station, which serves an area of high-density commercial enterprises comprising shops, hotels and banks and the two lines then converge at Khalid bin Al Waleed Station, which is one of the most beautiful metro stations worldwide.

The metro route then moves above the ground in an elevated track with the next stop being the 15th station of Oud Metha, near Al Nasr Club. The station serves a variety of government entities such as Rashid Hospital, Dubai Media, schools and resident communities clubs.

The 16th station is Dubai Healthcare City. It will be the terminus station under the initial operational stage, and will mainly serve the hospitals of the Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Wafi Centre and hotels in the vicinity.

Al Tayer further added that RTA opted to hold the opening of Al Jadaf and Creek stations, though ready for operation, due to the non-completion of property projects to be served by these two stations and the lack of passengers to use these two stations for the time being, adding that RTA would consider opening them in the next stage.

He emphasised that the number of the metro riders will pick up considerably following the operation of the Green Line as it serves dynamic and high-density commercial, government and residential areas.

The Green Line has a mega metro depot at Al Qusais and the facility, which is air-conditioned and fitted with an advanced firefighting system, provides a parking space for the metro carriages to be maintained and cleaned. It also has a parking area with a capacity to house 60 trains at a time, and contains workshops for carrying out maintenance works, and dedicated workshops for washing and cleaning of train carriages.

The operator of the Dubai Metro has been conducting technical trial runs which comprise two key phases. The first is known as the ‘static test’, which involves placing a motionless car of the rolling stock on the track and performing system tests covering communication systems, automatic train operation systems, power supply, air-conditioning, on-board electronics, and lighting systems in addition to integration and co-ordination tests between various sub-systems and components. The second is the ‘dynamic test’ to a car without passengers on board. It involves tests of various systems while the train is in motion, including propulsion and brake tests, load tests, traction power tests, electromagnetic compatibility tests, automatic train operation tests, communication tests and speed tests.