When it opens in 2029, Dubai Metro Blue Line's first station will become the tallest metro station in the world at 74 metres. To be called Emaar Properties and located in the Dubai Creek Harbour area, the station will be an “architectural icon”, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who laid the foundation stone on Monday.
The Blue Line will add 30km to the Dubai Metro network, and is set to have 14 stations, to be constructed at a cost of Dh18 billion ($4.9 billion). Once completed it will turn the Dubai Metro into a 131km network encompassing 78 stations.
Ahead of the station's opening, here are five others that are already in the record books.
Busiest railway station: Shinjuku Station, Tokyo
Used by an average of 2.7 million people per day, Shinjuku in Japan was certified as the world's busiest railway station by the Guinness World Records in 2022. More than 140 years old, the station serves as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central, eastern and western Tokyo as well as the intercity rail, commuter rail and subway lines.
Largest station by number of platforms: Grand Central Terminal, New York City
With 44 platforms spread over 19 hectares, Grand Central Terminal is situated on two underground levels and serves approximately 660 trains, as well as an average of 125,000 commuters per day.
Completed in 1913, it's also popularly referred to as Grand Central Station or simply Grand Central, and is now an integral part of New York's history. Even today, it's still one of the biggest train stations in the US and one of the world's most popular tourist sites, having been featured in many TV shows and films over the years, from Gossip Girl to The Avengers.
Highest railway station: Tanggula Railway Station, Tibet
Opened in 2006, the Tanggulla Railway Station is in Amdo County in the Tibet Autonomous Region. At 5,068 metres above sea level, it is the highest railway station in the world, and serves the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest train line, which runs from Qinghai in north-west China to Lhasa in Tibet.
The station is actually unmanned and not a regular stop for passenger trains, although trains may occasionally stop there to wait for another train coming from the opposite direction to pass.
Tallest metro escalator: Admiralteyskaya station, St Petersburg
At 68.6 metres and comprising 770 steps, the escalator at Admiralteyskaya station in St Petersburg, Russia, is the tallest in the world. The station is 86 metres below ground, making it one of the deepest in the city.
Completed in 2011, the station serves the Frunzensko-Primorskaya Line of the St Petersburg Metro.
Deepest metro station: Hongyancun Station, Chongqing
The south-west municipality of Chongqing in China, known for its hilly terrain, has a number of records to its name, including its social-media-famous monorail system, one of the longest and busiest in the world.
Hongyancun Station, which serves Line 9 of the Chongqing Rail Transit, is 113 metres below ground, making it the deepest metro station in the world. There are extensive escalator systems and lifts to ferry passengers, with some platforms taking up to 10 minutes to reach from the entry point.
UAE Rugby finals day
Games being played at The Sevens, Dubai
2pm, UAE Conference final
Dubai Tigers v Al Ain Amblers
4pm, UAE Premiership final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
