A sprawling underground network forms Metro's core

Dubai: Some 12.6-kilometre stretch of the total 76-kilometre Dubai Metro track runs underground while the rest of it is on the elevated track.

“Underground parts of the Dubai metro offer an entirely unique world as … [travelling] … under the city is something which has never been experienced in the Gulf region before,” said a senior official at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

He said that the RTA opted to run the metro underground in the congested areas of the Central Business District (CBD) on both sides of the Dubai Creek because there was not enough room to build elevated tracks or run the metro along the road.The underground tracks include 4.7 kilometres on the 52.1-kilometre Red Line which is scheduled to open on September 9 and 7.9 kilometres on the 23.9-kilometre Green Line set to open in March next year.

There are a total of 10 underground metro stations including four on the Red Line and six on the Green Line.

The two lines will meet each other at the two underground stations including Union Square Station and BurJuman Station, offering transfer facilities to the passengers.

Construction of the 12.6-kilometre underground tracks was one of the most critical parts of the Dubai Metro project, but the Rail Agency at the RTA completed the tunnelling work with precision a few months ago. Tunnelling work for the 4.7-kilometre underground track on the Red Line has been completed with the excavation of three tunnels. The most challenging part of the work was the completion of the tunnel under the Dubai Creek linking Union Square underground station in Deira with BurJuman underground station in Bur Dubai.

The 1.47km-long tunnel runs under the Dubai Creek and is a masterpiece of construction.

Another tunnel completed on the Red Line is 948 metres long from Union Square Station to Al Rigga Station.

The third tunnel on the Red Line has also been completed. Boring the 1,168-metre tunnel between Al Rigga Station and Deira City Centre Station was a challenge. The most difficult and critical phase of this tunnel work was to pass under the Dnata building. It went 30 metres deep under the building and is now the deepest of all the tunnels for the underground tracks. It was completed between October 7, 2007 and January 6, 2008.

The tunnelling work on the Green Line has also been completed. The Green Line will have 7.9 kilometres of underground track running under the CBD area.

The Rail Agency has completed the first tunnel on the Green Line from Union Square Station to Salahuddin Station. It is around 789 metres long. The second tunnel on the Green Line was completed from the Union Square to the Baniyas Station and is 678 metres long.

The tunnel between Baniyas Station and Palm Deira Station is 1,128 metres long while the underground track from Palm Deira Station to Al Ras Station near Deira Gold Souq is 1,059 metres long.

The 559-metre long tunnel from Al Ras Station in Deira to Al Ghubaiba Station in Bur Dubai passes under the Dubai Creek. The tunnel length from Al Ras Station to Khalid Bin Waleed Road Station is 1,256 metres and, finally, the tunnel between Khalid Bin Al Waleed Station to BurJuman Station is 678 metres long.

Facts:

– 12.6 kilometres of the total 76km of Dubai Metro track runs underground while rest of it is on the elevated track

– There are a total of 10 underground metro stations including four on the Red Line and 10 on the Green Line

-Tunneling work for 4.7 km underground track on the Red Line has been completed with the excavation of three tunnels