Gulf's first metro system opens in Dubai
(14 September 2009)The first line of the Gulf's first metro system opened in Dubai last week, and is already billed as the world's longest automated driverless train system.
Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, officiated the launch of the Red Line, which has three classes of carriage: first class (with wide leather seats and Wi-Fi Internet access), standard class, and a carriage for women and children.
Running on an elevated track along Sheikh Zayed Road, from Rashidiya Station to Jebel Ali Station, the Red Line will serve 29 stations, of which just 10 are currently in use.
The remainder will be phased in over the next six months, with the second line, the Green Line (from the Dubai Airport Free Zone to Dubai Health Care City), opening in 2010.
"For me it's something special like when the first plane flew for emirates airline or the first container ship came through the port," Sheikh Mohammed said.
At a cost of around £4.5 billion, almost twice the original budget, the completed 300km (186-mile) metro system will have four lines in total: the Red Line; the Green Line; the Purple Line running between the existing airport and the planned airport at Jebel Ali; and the Blue Line, which will stretch from Emirates Road to the airports.
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