Dubai plans for co-ordination

DUBAI // When you are designing a rail network for 2020, the big question is: will the passengers be there when the train pulls into the station? Making sure they are is the main challenge facing transport officials and consultants drawing up the rail master plan for Dubai's rapidly changing landscape.

Abdul Redha Abu al Hassan, director of planning and development for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), disclosed yesterday that international consultants would be brought in to help draw up a comprehensive plan to guide the development of Dubai's rail infrastructure over the next 12 years. Dubai's rail master plan will tie together all future light railway networks with existing projects, such as the metro and Al Sufouh tram system, which are designed to take the strain off the city's congested roads.

It will also integrate these with the proposed national railway network that will initially link Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. "The objective is to conduct a comprehensive study of existing and future rail projects to determine the rail infrastructure needs of Dubai up to the year 2020," Mr Hassan told delegates at the Middle East Rail Conference, organised by MEED, the business intelligence provider. An integrated rail network was essential to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding population, he said, adding that Dubai was a dynamic city with new housing and commercial developments that would affect rail plans.

Mr Hassan said an important part of the master plan was to optimise the alignment of services, which would require close co-ordination with developers so planners could ascertain how many passengers would use each proposed rail link. The proposed 16.5km extension of the Dubai Metro Red Line to the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border was an example of this process, he said. It had been put out to tender in April but was now on hold until the end of the year because of recently announced developments along Sheikh Zayed Road, which could interfere with the original layout.

"We don't want to build it and then find the passengers are not there," he added. "Locations of stations depend on ridership [passenger] levels - you need a certain number of people to use the metro or tram to make it worthwhile, and normally this occurs where you have maximum road congestion. "Also, if the developer is providing their own transit within the project, we need to co-ordinate with them so it can be integrated into our transport systems.

"This means we have to rethink our plans whenever a major new development is announced." During his presentation, Mr Hassan provided an update on progress on Dubai Metro - which will be the biggest driverless light railway system ever built. "We are well on track to meet the Sept 9 2009 deadline - we have no problem with that", he said, referring to the opening of the first stretch of Red Line track. By Jan 2009, the whole 52km Red Line track will be ready for testing with rolling stock.

"By December this year the superstructure of the elevated stations on the Green Line will be completed, and the Green Line will be ready to take passengers on March 21 2010." The metro's 49km Purple Line, linking Dubai International Airport to the new Al Maktoum Airport in Jebel Ali via Al Khail Road - currently in the design process - will be put out to tender in January. Its opening will be phased in from March 2014.

arichardson@thenational.ae