Dubai’s transport authority said Tuesday it is on track to lease all vacant retail outlets across Dubai Metro’s Green and Red line stations by the year-end.

The Dubai Metro is offering 195 retail units for lease

As many as 195 units were offered for rent across at stations on both rail lines in October, and the RTA confirmed it was holding talks with a number of retail firms.

“We have a couple of companies interested, but a deal hasn’t been signed yet,” said Adnan Al Hammadi, CEO of Dubai’s Rail Agency. “We expect to have it all rented in a couple of months. Part of it is already rented.

“[Potential retailers] have to be sustainable businesses,” he said. “We are also looking for long term partners, and recognised brands are preferred.”

He declined to specify how many of the metro’s retail units remained vacant and whether rents had been reduced in line with current economic realities.

More than 84 million passengers have used the Dubai Metro since its launch in September 2009, according to RTA figures.

The launch of the Green Line, which added a further 18 stations and 23km to the existing rail network, is expected to drive passenger figures to 100,000 a day, the RTA said.

The launch of the metro’s Red Line in 2009 sparked a bidding war among retailers vying to secure the premium spots. But the difficult economic climate is expected to subdue demand during the second round of leasing.

Al Hammadi said the RTA may look to lift an existing ban on eating and drinking on the trains in a bid to encourage food and beverage sales in the stations and boost their appeal to retailers.

“We want to make sure people can behave properly first, as we want to keep the metro clean and tidy,” he said. “So we are not doing anything [immediately], but maybe in the future.”

The RTA said in September it planned to offer a limited number of metro stations up for company sponsorship, allowing firms to rename the sites. More info

More than 10 percent of staff set to work for the Dubai Metro’s new Green Line will be Emirati, the head of the Metro’s operator and maintainer has said.

Dubai Metro

Up to 150 of the second lines’ 800 employees, which will include ticket sales staff, security personnel, train drivers and maintenance workers, will be UAE nationals, the CEO of Serco Middle East Zafar Raja has said.

“We are in the process of recruiting and training for the Green Line,” he told Arabian Business in an interview. “We anticipate that at least… 100 to 150 [of the staff] will be coming from the Emiratis.”

He added that to date, just over 250 of the 1200 employees employed for the Dubai Metro Red Line were locals, some of which were receiving training, some of which had received training and were already delivering services.

Employment of Emiratis has become a key government priority following the social unrest in the Middle East, which was sparked by popular discontent over joblessness, poverty and food shortages.

The UAE, though relatively unscathed by the turmoil, wants to ensure political instability in the future by increasing the number of locals in employment.

According to analysts, around 14 percent of nationals in the OPEC member state are out of work, whilst unemployment across the board is almost twice the level that it is in Egypt.

In Abu Dhabi, many government organisations are embarking on a policy of ‘Emiratisation’, according to a recent report.

In Dubai, the Metro, which is due for expansion in the future, is considered to be a key opportunity for job creation.

Once the Green Line is operational in September, it will have as many as 2000 staff to operate and maintain services.

A proposed $2.73bn high-speed express railway link between Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central could be cancelled, according to a senior official familiar with the project.

Dubai Metro

“Our view is that what both airports need is really fast and efficient links Downtown to residential and businesses, so we don’t really need a fast Metro link between the two airports because the amount of traffic between airports won’t be significant,” Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told Arabian Business.

“Particularly as we see, at some stage, the complete transfer of the Emirates hub to Dubai World Central – so the fast links to the centre of town are more important to the airport links.”

When asked whether this meant that the proposed link had now been cancelled, Griffiths said: “Well - let’s put it this way – that is our focus of planning.”

Dubai Airports and the RTA had planned to link the two facilities via the 49-km Purple Line.

The original design, announced in 2007, had eight stations and was intended to cut travel time between the airports to 20 minutes.

More recently, Dubai Airports had pushed for the development of a central rail terminal with connections to the two airports through the city’s main business and tourist areas, instead of the Purple Line.

Earlier this year, the managing director of Al Futtaim Engineering, which worked on the Dubai Metro Red Line, said that there was potential for the Purple Line to be revived.

Dubai World Central, which opened last year, is expected to be the world’s largest airport when it is completed around the mid-2020s. It will be able to handle 160m passengers annually.

On Wednesday, Dubai Airports announced that it would spend $7.8bn expanding the existing facilities at Dubai International Airport.

The CEO of the Dubai Metro operator Serco Group has said he is confident that problems encountered with the rail system’s Red Line will not reoccur when the Green Line opens this September.

Dubai Metro in operation. (Getty Images)

In an interview with Arabian Business, Zafar Raja said the “minor” and “early snag issues” which ensued when the Red Line first opened had been dealt with, and the company was ready to open the second line later this year.

“We have been preparing ourselves for the Green Line for well over a year now and I am pleased to say that everything is on track,” he said.

“We learnt a lot from the first opening and we have taken those lessons into account in during project planning for the Green Line. We are very confident that all of those minor issues have been overcome.”

The main problems with the Red Line stemmed from a lack of public education on how to use the metro, and from the operation of automatic doors, he said.

“We anticipate it will be much easier [this time] as a vast amount of the public will have used the Red Line, so we expect [the issues] to be fairly negligible.”

The Green Line will be the second of the Dubai Metro lines to open following the launch of the Red Line on 9 September 2009.

Transporting as many as 1 million passengers in its first two weeks of operation, the Red Line proved extremely popular among Dubai residents as a cheap and effective means of getting from one end of the city to the other.

But despite its popularity, the Middle East’s first ever Metro encountered a string of problems in the wake of its opening.

As well as overcrowded stations, media reports cited frequent delays due to misuse of trains by passengers as well as signalling issues which forced the closure of some stations.

“One of the things we must realise is that when you operate a brand new system, it takes a number of years for that system to bed down,” said Raja.

“I think for the Dubai Metro we have achieved exceptional results. This is the best performing metro system in the world, and despite some of the early snag issues, everybody has done an exceptional job in keeping the metro performing at high levels.”

On completion, the Green Line will have as many as 18 stations spanning 22.5 km, and will cater for passengers living in the older areas of the city such as Deira and Bur Dubai.

According to Raja, the new line with have the same number of trains and the same three minute wait time as the Red Line.

He expects the total passenger count for both lines to increase from approximately 190,000 per day to at least 250,000 once the Green Line is fully operational, given its route through some of the most densely populated areas of Dubai.

Dubai Metro’s Green Line will be completed in August and is expected to open to passengers in September, a senior official at the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said.

“The Green Line will be completed in August this year,” Abdul Younes, CEO for strategy and corporate governance, told Arabian Business. “We might open the line around September. We do not know what date exactly. The pricing structure will be the same as the Red Line; everything will be the same.”

The metro’s second line, originally slated for completion in April 2010, was reported last month to have been pushed back to the last quarter of 2011 as construction delays slowed progress.

In March, the RTA said it would slash staff and daily train services at the metro in a bid to trim costs by around AED7.5m ($2.04m). The same cutbacks would apply to the Green Line, the authority said, to achieve estimated savings of AED47m.

On completion, the Green Line will have 18 stations spanning 22.5 km, and will run through heavily populated areas such as Deira and Bur Dubai.

Of the 18 stations on the Green Line, 12 are to be elevated and six will be underground stations.

The line is expected to handle as many as 22,000 passengers per hour.

In November of 2010, RTA officials said that they were considering extending the Green Line by a further 20 kilometres so as to link it to Dubai’s Academic City.

If approved, the plan will benefit thousands of students and staff at the education development, which is set to have 40,000 students by the end of 2015.

Initial plans for the Dubai Metro included the Blue and Purple lines, which were approved for construction before the credit crunch slowed transport projects in the emirate. Younes said there were no immediate plans to resurrect the additional tracks.

“No new lines are being planned for the time being,” he said, adding that the lines were still in the RTA’s long term plans.

The authority said in January it would seek private funding for 30 percent of its largest projects until 2015, in a bid to spread the cost and risk associated with large developments.

Last month, Dubai unveiled a plan to raise financing backed by future Salik road-toll receipts, a programme said to have received at least $1bn in bids after just four weeks.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the UAE rallying champion, has backed plans to use an electric-powered superbus to ferry passengers from Abu Dhabi to Dubai.

The electric-powered Superbus is the brainchild of Dutch engineers

Sulayem, who is also vice president of Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said he believes the cross-over between a bus and a limousine could be the shape of things to come.

Capable of carrying 23 passengers at 250 km per hour, the Dutch transport concept is as an environmentally friendly idea to reduce traffic congestion and road accidents.

Sulayem was invited to test drive the Superbus at Dubai Autodrome on Thursday by its chief designer Antonia Terzi, the Italian former chief aerodynamicist of the BMW-Williams Formula 1 team.

Sulayem said: “I had heard a lot about this project and the concept interested me. It’s an electrically powered vehicle which uses rechargeable batteries and can actually run on solar energy. At the same time it’s very lightweight and has an aerodynamic design so has low energy consumption.

“I also like it because it can help ease traffic congestion and reduce the number of accidents. Anything that can make our roads better and safer to drive on has to be a good thing.”

It would cut the commute time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to 30 minutes, backers say.

Earlier this week, a senior transport official said that a second motorway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai would be built within four years as part of a strategy to reduce congestion and improve road safety.

The Holland-based design team behind Superbus see it as an extension of this strategy in which a fleet of Superbuses would run on a dedicated two-lane highway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and leave the “speed track” in urban areas to drop off passengers at agreed locations.

The first prototype version of the Superbus made its Middle East debut earlier this month at the UITP Mobility and City Transport Expo in Dubai.

The Superbus will be flown back to Holland next week where it will undergo further tests under the scrutiny of the Dutch transport authorities.

The design team hopes that by the end of the year these will lead to the prototype being registered and issued with a licence plate, allowing it to be driven on public roads for the first time.

“We came here to show the authorities in the UAE that the Superbus is as practical and drivable as it is beautiful,” said Terzi. “It tackles the challenges of mobility, spatial planning, service detail and environmental demands all in one.”

She added: “We were delighted when Mohammed accepted our invitation to test drive the Superbus. He understands and appreciates the concept and is very enthusiastic about our project.”

Sulayem is the first Arab vice president of the FIA (The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile).

Superbus is the brainchild of a design team at TU Delft University of Technology in Holland who have brought the prototype to the UAE after an exploratory initial visit earlier in the year.

Powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries, the 530bhp carbon fibre vehicle is similar in length and width to a public bus, but with the height of a conventional SUV.

The Superbus, which uses rear wheel steering, boasts high maneuverability, formidable breaking power and safety based on the use of advanced radar and electronic obstacle detection systems.

The Superbus project is backed by the Dutch government as well as 10 sponsors and 56 suppliers.

The first Superbus road tests took place in Holland last September.

Petrol pumps at Emarat stations across Dubai have run dry after delivery problems at the company’s depots hit fresh fuel supplies, station managers told Arabian Business.

After three days without supplies, workers said they have been forced to turn motorists away.

Only a few stations have received a limited amount of fuel, one manager said.

“We cannot answer how long it will take [before fresh supplies are delivered]. It depends on how long they take to solve the problems at the supply depots,” he said.

“We’re calling and asking other stations if they have supplies and sending people there.”

It’s the latest in a series of fuel shortages for government-owned Emarat. The company in September blamed logistical and technical failures for supply problems.

Rival gas station operator Enoc said the shortage had put added pressure on its outlets to meet increased demand.

“The only challenge we’re facing is the transportation of the fuel. It’s putting an extra load on the system. There are currently only 47 trucks supplying 170 stations all across Dubai,” said Khalid Hadi, director of brand and corporate communication at Enoc.

“With regards to Enoc and Eppco, there are no issues with supply, the product is available.”

The UAE, the world’s third largest exporter of crude oil, has long subsidised fuel prices in an effort to cut living costs for residents, a move that costs the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Emarat said in January it was restructuring and needed bank loans because it must sell gasoline at below-market prices. Chairman Obaid Humaid Al Tayer said there is a one dirham gap between the cost and selling price of a litre of fuel.

Transport chiefs have reduced the number of employees working for Dubai Metro operator Serco as part of a plan to cut costs, it was revealed on Tuesday.

Dubai’s Rail Agency, part of the Roads and Transport Authority, also cut back the number of daily trains in operation and reviewed maintenance processes to achieve savings of AED7.5m, state news agency WAM reported.

It said the same initiatives would apply to the Green Line of the rail system, which is due to launch in August, to achieve estimated savings of AED47m.

The measures were part of a major cost saving plan implemented in 2010, WAM said, but no further details were given on the scale of the Dubai Metro cost savings.

Adnan Al Hammadi, the CEO of RTA Rail Agency, said the company had rolled out as many as 15 different initiatives last year, aimed at slashing costs and hiking revenues.

“The majority of initiatives undertaken have been carried out in a phased manner over the year,” he added in comments published by WAM.

“There were some procedures taken as regards the contract made with the Dubai Metro operator Serco Co. in terms of reducing the number of employees, number of daily trains in operation, working hours, and maintenance processes among other steps taken on the Red Line resulting in savings of about AED7.5m,” he said.

Jebel Ali Station, the terminal destination on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro, will open on Friday March 11, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said on Saturday.

Dubai Metro

The launch will increase the total number of stations opened to 27 stations.

The station has a total capacity of handling 11,000 passengers per hour per direction, the RTA said in a statement.

Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of the Board and executive director of the RTA, said the station would serve the Jebel Ali Industrial Area which is the home to about 6,600 companies employing about 129,000 employees.

“As Jebel Ali Station is located at the terminal point of the Red Line, the rail track of trains in operation is extended by 9km to reach 53km,” he said.

The RTA will operate 27 trains in the morning peak hours and 29 trains in the evening peak hours with the interval between train services ranging from 6 to 8 minutes in the morning peak period, and from 5 to 6 minutes in the evening peak period.

Al Tayer said the number of people riding the metro in January and February topped 9.3 million.

In 2010 the metro lifted a total of 38.888 million passengers and the current daily average is about 149,000 people, according to the RTA Statistics Office.

The commute between Abu Dhabi and neighbouring Dubai could be cut to 30 minutes with the launch of an electric-powered ‘Superbus’.

The Superbus, the brainchild of a team of Dutch engineers, is set to go on display at next month’s Commercial Vehicles Conference in Dubai.

The bus-limousine hybrid – which can reach the speeds of a high-speed train – can carry 23 passengers at 250km/h along a dedicated ‘speed track’.

The 15m, eight-door bus would leave the track in urban areas to drop off passengers at agreed locations.

The Superbus will not have a fixed schedule – commuters will book online or with their mobile phone.

It generally takes up to an hour and a half to reach central Abu Dhabi from central Dubai, but the commute could be slashed to 30 minutes if the technology is adopted.

The first road tests took place in Holland last September. No feasibility studies have been done yet for the Abu Dhabi-Dubai route, but the similar Amsterdam-Groningen route has been studied by the Dutch government. The Superbus has been dubbed the “Dutch solution” to the three ills of public transportation: congestion, pollution, and safety.

“[It tackles] the challenges of mobility, spatial planning, service detail and environmental demands all in one,” said chief designer Antonia Terzi, of the design team at TU Delft University of Technology.

Powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries, the Superbus is similar in length and width to a public bus, but with the height of a conventional SUV.

The project is backed by the Dutch government as well as ten sponsors and 56 suppliers.