Our Correspondent
September 9, 2009 was a historic day for Dubai. At 9:09 a.m. on that day, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the Vice-President of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, swiped the Metro’s first ticket to launch the city’s iconic transport system.
Since then, the shiny driverless carriage has been transporting residents and tourists across the emirate belying predictions that a city of cars and fast lanes will not find the public transport attractive. Today, many prefer to leave their cars parked at home and take a hassle-free and reliable metro ride to their destinations.
Over 1.5 billion riders have used the Dubai Metro until now, with a daily ridership of 650,000 reported last year. The Metro, like the tram and buses, were halted from March 26, 2020 during the National Sterilisation drive to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and was resumed on April 26.
The number of Dubai Metro riders on its Red and Green Lines reached 202.98 million riders in 2019. Burjuman and Union stations, interchange stations on the Red and Green Lines, accounted for the biggest share of riders. Burjuman Station served 12.76 million riders, while the Union Station was used by 10.6 million riders.
Route 2020, a 15km extension of the Red Line to the Expo 2020 site with 7 stations in between, was recently inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed.
“The UAE has exceptional goals and ambitions. Today, we are moving with confidence, determination and a clear vision to attain the highest levels of excellence in various fields. Our objective is to provide people everything that ensures their wellbeing, stability and happiness and establish a prosperous future for the coming generations,” he said at the launch.
The plan for the Metro began on May 29, 2005, when the Dubai Municipality signed a Dh12.45billion contract with Dubai Rapid Link, a group of companies led by Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. The company was also put in charge of the maintenance of the facility. Construction commenced in October 2005.
Dubai’s Roads and Transports Authority (RTA) allowed companies to purchase naming rights on the Metro stations. From Etisalat, DIFC and Deira City Centre to the recently renamed Mashreq Metro Station are among them. The Palm Deira and Nakheel Harbour and Tower recently became Gold Souq and Jabal Ali respectively.
