By Sharmila Dhal, Senior Reporter, XPRESSÂ www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: Khalid Bin Walid has emerged as the busiest Metro station in Dubai with more than 19,000 passengers using the station every day, a top official has told XPRESS.
Ramadan Abdullah, Director, Rail Operations, Dubai Metro, said an average of 19,097 passengers take the Metro to or from the Khalid Bin Walid station in Bur Dubai every day, followed by Union Square station with 18,113 passengers and Deira City Centre with 15,607 passengers.
Average ridership
The total average ridership on the Metro is 297,357 passengers per day.
Abdullah said Khalid Bin Walid attracts large numbers of passengers for many reasons. “There are lots of businesses in the area as well as restaurants and hotels that are frequented by a high number of Metro users. The station is a popular interchange station for passengers switching between the Red and Green lines to complete their journey. The BurJuman shopping mall also attracts a large number of Metro users.”
But passengers who regularly use the station rued the mad rush at the station during peak hours.
Shama Kapoor, a receptionist who takes the Metro from Khalid Bin Walid to the Noor Islamic Bank station every morning, said, “I prefer to get into the women’s compartment but it’s always packed. Earlier, it was a scramble just getting in. Now I need to stand in a queue but there are so many people that I end up missing the first train.”
Abdul Hakim, an engineer, said, “I started using the Gold card thinking there would be no rush in the Gold compartment. But there are so many people who travel in this compartment from Khalid Bin Walid.” More info
