DUBAI // Commuters and residents are looking forward to the opening of the long-awaited Jebel Ali Metro station on Friday, which is intended to alleviate long and often delayed commutes and increase access to the rest of the city.
The station will provide trains to and from the Jebel Ali Free Zone every five to eight minutes during peak hours, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced this weekend. It will serve 40,000 employees living inside the Free Zone and another 129,000 working at 6,600 businesses located there, according to the RTA.
“We’ve been waiting for this for quite a while,” said Jeff Agsalog, 31, a warehouse worker who lives in Satwa. “Getting to work will be much easier now. Before there were not enough buses serving Jebel Ali so I had to take a taxi to work or get a ride from friends. The new service will help me and many others make it to work on time.”
Another Jebel Ali worker, who lives on-site, said the new station would make the rest of Dubai much more accessible during his free time.
“This is great, great news,” said Fathi Marwan, an Egyptian dock worker. “Now all of Dubai is open. Instead of staying at the port on weekends or taking buses or taxis, my coworkers and I can simply take the Metro and see more of Dubai.”
The latest addition, which marks the end of the Red Line and its 27th station, has been designed to process 11,000 commuters per hour in each direction, according to the RTA.
“The Jebel Ali Station is mainly intended to serve Jebel Ali area and in particular the Jebel Ali Free Zone North and South as well as Jebel Ali Port,” said Mattar al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director at RTA.
The RTA will operate 27 trains in the morning peak hours, with service every six to eight minutes, and 29 trains in the evening peak hours, with service every five to six minutes.
In January, there were 4.7 million riders, dropping slightly in February to 4.6m. In 2010, there were 38.8m riders recorded by the RTA Statistics Office, with an average daily ridership of 149,000.
ealghalib@thenational.ae
The specs
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Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Arrab, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mahaleel, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
3.15pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handicap (TB) Dh200,000 2,000m; Winner: Dolmen, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Amang Alawda, Sandro Paiva, Bakhit Al Ketbi.
4.15pm: The Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 1,200m; Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
4.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: Al Jazi, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Autumn international scores
Saturday, November 24
Italy 3-66 New Zealand
Scotland 14-9 Argentina
England 37-18 Australia
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.