His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), announced that the Dubai Investment Park Station and Expo 2020 Station on Route 2020 of the Dubai Metro, which runs from Al Rashidiya Station on the Red Line to Expo 2020 Station, would be opened on June 1st, 2021. The opening of the two new stations comes six months after the opening of Route 2020, which launched its maiden journey on Jan 1st, 2021 with four stations namely Jebel Ali (a transfer station on the Red Line), The Gardens, The Discovery Gardens, and Al Furjan.
“From June 1st, journeys of Dubai Metro’s Red Line will shuttle directly between Al Rashidiya Station and Expo 2020 Station. Jebel Ali Station will be an interchange station for those heading to or coming from UAE Exchange Station. As of June 1st, the Metro service to Expo 2020 Station will be available only to those entitled to access the site of Expo until its official public opening on October 1st. By that time, the public can use the metro service to Expo. The opening of the Jumeirah Golf Estates Station will coincide with the opening of Expo,” announced Al Tayer.
“The opening of the two stations on Route 2020 concurs with the start of the countdown of Dubai’s hosting of Expo 2020. This mega global showpiece, which runs from October 1st 2021 to March 31st, 2022, features the participation of 190 countries. It follows the successful completion of all tests relating to the performance efficiency and safety of the rail systems, and the test runs by the network operator to verify its readiness before the start of the public service. 31 successful trial tests were conducted spanning the operations control centre, stations operations, rolling stock crews, engineering & maintenance teams, and emergency services. RTA also completed the training of 152 staff in preparation for Phase II of Route 2020 operation,” explained Al Tayer.
Journey Schedules
“From Saturday to Wednesday, the first journey from Al Rashidiya Station to Expo 2020 Station and vice-versa will start at 05:00 am, and the last journey will start at 12:00 (midnight). On Thursday, the first journey will start at 05:00 am and the last journey will start at 01:30 am (of the following day). On Friday, the first journey will start at 10:00 am and the last journey will start at 01:00 am (of the following day),” remarked Al Tayer.
“The travel time between Al Rashidiya and Expo Stations will be 1 hour and 14 minutes. The service frequency will be 2 minutes and 38 seconds during peak time at a rate of 24 trains per hour per direction, and a capacity of 16,000 riders per hour per direction.
“The travel time between Jebel Ali Station and the UAE Exchange Station will be 11 minutes and 42 seconds, with a constant service frequency of 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The start of the Green Line service will be advanced to 05:00 am, and the service frequency on the line will be 5 minutes during peak times.
“The new operator of the Dubai Metro (The Consortium of Keolis, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, and Mitsubishi Corporation) will shortly be engaged in the operation of Dubai Metro processes in full coordination with the current operator (Serco). The step will pave the way for the smooth transfer of the metro operation and maintenance processes, and the Dubai Tram operation to the new operator as of September 8th, 2021.
“RTA has designated 35 buses to serve Route 2020 stations to commute riders from and to the metro stations. Two bus routes will serve The Gardens Station, two routes will call at The Discovery Gardens Station and two routes will pass through Al Farjan Station, in addition to five bus routes moving through the Dubai Investment Park Station. The taxi service will be available at the operated stations,” commented Al Tayer.
Two Stations
One underground station and one elevated station will be opened this June. The underground station is the Dubai Investment Park Station. It spans 27000 square metres in area and extends 226 metres in length. It can serve 13,899 riders per hour during peak times and 250,000 riders per day. The station has 2 boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 8 outlets of 315 square metres for commercial investment.
The elevated station is the iconic Expo 2020 Station. It is the terminal station of Route 2020 that mainly serves visitors of Expo. It has a unique plane-wing design symbolising Dubai’s future drive towards innovation. The station spans 18,800 square metres in area and extends 119 metres in length. It can serve 29,000 riders per hour during peak times and 522,000 riders per day. The station has 3 boarding platforms and 3 routes. It is linked from the Eastern side with Expo and Expo COEX, and from the Western side with the Mall and the urban complex. The station design serves the integration with public transit means with spaces for buses and taxis stands comprising 6 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 4 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 9 outlets of 264 square metres for commercial investment in addition to 4 spaces as points of sale.
Operational Results
Since the start of the operation on January 1st this year, Route 2020 of Dubai Metro has carried out 27,043 journeys: 6,938 journeys in January, 6,287 journeys in February, 6,986 journeys in March, and 6,832 journeys in April.
The initial phase of operation witnessed the opening of 4 elevated stations. The first is Jebel Ali Station, an interchange station with the Red Line. The station spans 8,800 square metres in area and extends 150 metres in length. It can serve 17,000 riders per hour during peak times and 320,000 riders per day. The station has 4 train boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 17 taxi stands and 7 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 8 outlets spanning an area of 388 square metres for commercial investment.
The second station on Route 2020 is The Gardens Station covering 8,100 square metres in area and extending 168 metres in length. It can serve 6,773 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day. The station has 2 train boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 5 outlets of 161 square metres for commercial investment.
The third is the Discovery Gardens Station, which spans an area of 8,600 square metres and extends 168 metres in length. It can serve 4,215 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day. The station has 2 train boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 4 outlets of 149 square metres for commercial investment.
The fourth is Al Furjan Station spanning 8,400 square metres in area and extending 168 metres in length. It can serve 4,746 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day. The station has 2 train boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination. It has 4 outlets spanning 149 square metres for commercial investment.
Biggest Station
The Jumeirah Golf Estates Station, which will start operation with the opening of Expo 2020, is the biggest underground metro station in the entire Dubai Metro network. It spans 28,700 square metres in area and extends 232 metres in length. It has a capacity of 11,555 riders per hour during peak time and about 250,000 riders per day. The station has 2 train boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination in addition to 14 outlets for commercial investment and an area of 466 square metres for 4 trading outlets.
Capacity
Route 2020 has a capacity of 46,000 riders per hour in both directions (23,000 riders per hour per direction). RTA’s studies anticipate the number of riders using Route 2020 to reach 125,000 riders per day in 2021, and increase to 275,000 riders per day by 2030. Studies also reveal that Expo Station is expected to record about 35,000 daily visitors of Expo during weekdays, and the number is expected to increase to 47,000 thousand daily visitors during weekends. This number accounts for 29% of the total expected number of daily visitors to Expo.
New Operator
A French-Japanese Consortium of Keolis, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, and Mitsubishi Corporation, will officially take over the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro and the operation of the Dubai Tram as of 8 September 2021 for 15 years (9 basic years renewable to further six years). During the current preparatory period, the consortium will engage in full coordination with the current operator in carrying out tasks to ensure a high level of safety for network users. The process warrants seamless monitoring of the safety of the metro and tram systems, improving the process and ensuring full integration between the metro and tram as well as other transit means. It will also cater to the smooth transfer of employees of the current operator to the new operator.
