By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: All trains will run the full length of the 53 kilometre-long Red Line of the Dubai Metro with the opening of the Jebel Ali Station on Friday.
The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) yesterday announced the opening of the much-awaited Jebel Ali Station on the Red Line catering to thousands of employees working in the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza).
“The Jebel Ali Station is mainly intended to serve Jebel Ali area and in particular the Jafza as well as Jebel Ali Port,” Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, said. Jebel Ali houses around 6,600 companies employing more than 129,000 people.
Some 40,000 employees also live in staff accommodation within the free zone while thousands of others commute daily from Dubai and Sharjah to their work places.
The opening of this station will bring the total number of operational stations to 27 out of a total of 29 stations. Two other stations, the Energy Station and Jebel Ali Industrial Station, will be opened in future depending on passenger demand.
Jebel Ali Station is the only station which has been built on the ground while all the other stations are either elevated or underground. It measures about 132 metres in length and is 29 metres wide and has a total capacity of handling 11,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
Commuter reaction
As Jebel Ali Station is the last station on the Red Line towards Abu Dhabi, trains will now run the full length of 53 kilometre on the Red Line from Al Rashidiya to Jebel Ali. Another nine kilometres have been added to the existing train run. “This is great news as we have been waiting for the opening of this station for a long time,” said Kareemuddin Ahmad, who commutes from Deira to Jebel Ali every day for work. He said employees were facing difficulties because the RTA had already shut down a number of direct buses on this route. “The opening of the station will bring relief to thousands of people,” he said.
The RTA will operate 27 trains in the morning peak hours and 29 trains in the evening peak hours to accommodate the huge increase in the number of passengers. It will also increase the frequency of trains (headway) to six minutes in the morning peak period, and five minutes in the evening peak period.
The RTA will also run a feeder bus service from the Station to Jafza, ensuring availability of an integrated public transport system. There is also a cycle stand in Jafza near the station providing easy access to low-income employees.
Numbers
- 27 – operational stations on Red Line out of 29
- 132 – metres in length and 29 metres in width the size of Jebel Ali station
- 11,000 – per hour the capacity of passengers to handle in each direction
