Metro by Numbers

• 0--(dhs) fare to park in designated parking structures; fare for children under age 5 and less than 90cm in height.
  
• 1--free bus ride with same ticket or card after station exit within 30 minute window; no. of grade level stations (Jebel Ali) on Red line.
  
• 1.8--(dhs) starting fare for Tier 0 Silver & Blue card travel up to 3km.
  
• 2--(dhs) starting fare for Red ticket holders on Tier 0 travel; multiple which Gold card holders must pay above Silver card fares; no. of interchange stations (Kkalid Bin al Waleed & Union) for Red & Green lines; p.m. start time of metro on Fridays.
  
• 2.3--(dhs) first tier fare for Silver & Blue card holders for travel within same zone.
  
• 2.5--(dhs) first tier fare for Red card holders for travel within same zone.
  
• 3--dedicated parking structures, at Rashidiya, Nakheel Harbor & Tower and Etisalat (u/c) stations.
  
• 3.75--minutes planned between train arrivals at peak times.
  
  
  
  
• 4--types of metro Nol card available (Silver, Gold, Blue & Red); no. of underground stations (Khalid Bin al Waleed, Union, Al Rigga, Deira City Center) on Red line.
  
• 4.1--(dhs) second tier fare for Silver & Blue card holders for travel to adjacent zone.
  
• 4.5--(dhs) second tier fare for Red card holders for travel to adjacent zone.
  
• 5--cars on each train; no. of zones in which Dubai is divided; validity period in years of Silver, Gold & Blue cards.
  
• 5.8--(dhs) third tier fare and maximum single journey fare for Silver & Blue card holders exceeding two zones in travel.
  
• 6--a.m. start of metro service Saturday-Thursday.
  
• 6.5--(dhs) third tier fare and maximum single journey fare for Red card holders exceeding two zones in travel.
  
• 8--underground stations on Green line (incl. 2 interchange stations).
  
• 9--see earlier post.
  
• 10--stations opened on 09-Sep-2009; no. of times Red ticket can be recharged.
  
  

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• 11--p.m. end of metro service daily, except during Ramadan.
  
• 12--elevated stations on Green line; a.m. end of metro service daily during Ramadan.
  
• 14--(dhs) maximum daily charge for Silver & Red card holders; amount of credit available on a 20 dhs Nol card.
  
• 15--seats in Women & Children's section of the designated carriage.
  
• 18--seats in Gold class section of the designated carriage.
  
• 19--new foot bridges across SZR as part of Red line stations.
  
• 20--(dhs) cost of Silver & Gold card (incl. 14 dhs ride credit); cost for 3 hr wifi service from Du; available credit on 70 dhs Blue card; stations on Green line when completed in mid 2010 (incl. two interchange stations); reported temperature (in Celcius) on board.
  
• 23--km length of Green line.
  
• 24--elevated stations on Red line.
  
• 25--trains in total to run on the Green line.
  
• 26--minutes estimated journey time on Green line end to end.
  
• 27--maximum no. of seats in each of the four Silver class carriages.
  
• 29--stations on Red line when completed by Feb-2010 (incl. 2 shared w/Green line).
  
• 32--km/hr average train speed on Green line.
  
• 42--km/hr average train speed on Red line.
  
• 47--stations in total on Red & Green lines (w/o double counting of interchange stations); km. planned length of the Blue line (Emirates Business 24/7).
  
• 49--km. planned length of the Purple line (Emirates Business 24/7).
  
  
  
  
• 50--(dhs) subscription fee for a Blue card.
  
• 52.1--km length of Red line.
  
• 62--trains in total to run on the Red line.
  
• 64--minutes estimated journey time on Red line end to end.
  
• 70--(dhs) total cost of Blue card.
  
• 78--km combined length of Red & Green lines.
  
• 87--trains in total to run on both Red & Green lines.
  
• 90--km/hr maximum speed of trains; days validity on Red tickets; validity period (in minutes) for tickets/cards used for Tier 0 travel.
  
• 100--(dhs) fine for eating or drinking on metro (ArabianBusiness.com).
  
  
  

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• 142--seats in total on every train.
  
• 180--validity period (in minutes) for tickets/cards used for Tier 1-3 travel.
  
• 200--(dhs) fine for traveling on metro w/o valid ticket (ArabianBusiness.com).
  
• 320--km of rail network planned by 2020 (Emirates Business 24/7).
  
• 500--(dhs) maximum value which can be stored on Silver, Gold & Blue Nol cards.
  
• 643--passenger capacity (as per design) per train, distributed across the 5 carriages.
  
• 897--passenger peak capacity per train.
  
  

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• 1992--year project first envisioned.
  
• 2005--year build contract awarded.
  
• 2006--year construction begun on Red line, 21 March (Emirates Business 24/7).
  
• 2009--year of Red line opening.
  
• 2010--year anticipated for completion of Red & Green lines.
  
• 2200--staff recruited to work for Metro by Red line opening (ArabianBusiness.com).
  
• 2700--free parking stalls at Rashidiya station.
  
• 3000--free parking stalls at Nakheel Harbour & Tower and Etisalat (u/c) stations; no. of CCTV cameras installed through the system.
  
• 74319--passengers estimated to utilize the metro per day.
  
• 8009090--no. to call for metro & all RTA related information and guidance.

Sources: My City. My Metro. pamphlet and RTA online.
Red highlights metro costs for regular commuters.

Send me your verified numbers to add to the list.
Random Tidbits

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• credit card recharge of Nol cards not yet available.
  
• Khalid Bin al Waleed station is commonly referred to as Bur Juman station--for reasons obvious to Dubai residents.
  
• Nakheel Harbour & Tower station, referring to a non-existent tower or harbour, may sometimes be referred to as Jumeirah Islands station.
  
  

First Live Report (Update)

It's been a Dubai metro day, for me and I'm sure for a lot of other excited people in Dubai.

On the morning train, all was fresh, bright and new and rather emotional. By end of day I was able to experience the metro in a calmer, more objective way. This, then, is what I have observed.

• The metro is popular--the trains got more and more crowded as evening wore on. It was standing room only on trains passing Khalid Bin Al Waleed (Bur Juman) station and Union station by 7:30 pm. At 8 pm Rashidiya station was jam packed with the ticket lobby full to capacity with people lining up for tickets. This most certainly were the Sharjah crowds, getting their chance to experience the metro after the work day.
  
• The novelty factor is huge--judging by the make up of the crowds, the enthusiasm, the overheard conversations, novelty has to be the biggest driving factor for the moment, and it has only just begun. I predict it will peak over the next couple of weeks.
  
• Without a doubt, it's impressive--if the intent was to turn heads, they have succeeded. There is an overall sleekness and elegance to the whole metro system. More than the trains, it is the stations. Each one is different, sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes quite dramatically. I will need to devote several future posts to the stations.
  
• But, 10 stations won't really cut it--the whole feeder bus thing should do the trick but not with the 10 stations alone. It's a good start, but once the novelty factor wears off, the practicality won't be there until the remaining 19 stations come on line.
  
• The class system--gold/women & kids--is rather awkward--the fact is all the carriages are nice, and if day one is any indication of things, it seems there is absolutely no reason why all of us can't assemble happily in the same carriages. To separate the women just seems antiquated and artificial in the modern, progressive context set by the metro overall, and the gold class thing would appear to have no function at all except for self-aggrandizement. I was in the women & children's cab on one ride and didn't even realize it, nor did anyone else seem to, and by mistake I also ended up in the gold class. I realized it, however, when I sat in the comfy seat, but it seemed so un-metro like to be bedded in comfy cushions. It's quite incongruent.
  
• Hiccups?--sure there were some: very few chairs anywhere in the stations, except for at street level where one can wait for a feeder bus (that is quite nice, btw); not enough ticket/card machines in stations to handle any sort of crowd; feeder bus numbers and arrival times given but no route maps; smallish route maps in the trains themselves which are difficult to read when not standing near them; not very many hand restraints or bars for standing passengers on trains to hold onto; no racks on trains for temporary placement of hand baggage (under the seats would be nice for seated pax)--that's about all I come up with as there are so many more things to be impressed with.

That is my more measured, less emotional account of a first day on the Metro.

Next to come are my station images, with this taster of Khalid Bin Al Waleed (Bur Juman) station:

A magnificent work of design and functionality

The Wi-fi Question

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What I heard repeatedly was wi-fi on the trains and in the stations. I never did hear that it was going to be free, so I wasn't surprised to find that one would need an account of some sort to log in. I was, however, surprised that it was Du and not Etisalat or better yet a choice of the two. As a Du mobile user I luckily had a scratch card with me--but 20 dh for 3 hours, to be used within only 3 days is steep.

I presume all new Dubai residents with Du ADSL accounts will be able to log in with their existing accounts. But, I suppose the majority of Dubai are still Etisalat customers. So there is sure to be some measure of chagrin.

Here is what one finds when they attempt to login and after they've paid for their connection.


So, there it is. I can't see so many people having the opportunity to wi-fi anyway as you will most likely not have a seat on the trains or in the stations, and for many travel/wait time will be very short. That said, I'll be sure to have my lap top with me and open whenever I'm there!

First Live Report

Time to blog on the return leg of my Rashidiya--Nakheel Harbour & Tower run.

I'm sitting on the Metro now traveling between MOE and Financial Center stations heading toward Rashidiya.

This is the scoop on the wifi commuting. It works perfectly on board, but it is a Du system so you must register with a Du login--Etisalat won't do. Lucky me, I happened to be carrying a spare Du mobile scratch card. For a 20 Dh card I get three hours of usage to be used within three days.

Now about the journey itself. I luckily got on the first train in the morning from Rashidiya. (My photo just taken by another passenger as I write.)

Train attendant and excited first riders (left), approach to Airport Terminal 3 station (right).

There's a lot to report on on the first trip, and its all about thrills.

When the train arrived in Rashidiya station--ten minutes late, at 6:10 am--there were cheers and applause from the platform. Nearly everyone had mobile cameras in hand snapping everything. Once on board the excitement level increased. After about a five minute wait the train started, again to applause. We were the lucky passengers on the first train.

No one cared about the rules. Passengers freely went into the gold class to snap more pictures from the picture window at the front of the train.

Women, men children all filled the gold class and women and children sections. Female train attendants walked the aisle smiling and greeting passengers. It was like this all the way as we made our way from Rashidiya to the end of the line past the Nakheel Harbour Station.

<< Burj Dubai (tower) in the early morning light.

We were accompanied by a Gulf News video reporter and cameraman who like all the giddy passengers took their own shots inside the train and through the windows.

Everyone was thrilled and there were passengers of all types on board. These included what looked like laborers, other city workers including myself, some parents with kids, locals and a variety of other nationalities.

Approach to Dubai Marina ↓



Aside from the timing, which seemed a bit off, it was a completely smooth ride. One couldn't notice the up and down movements along the tracks. It was quite easy to stay firm even when starting and stopping, and even if not holding onto hand bars.

This is it for my first on board account. Now I need to load a few pictures.

Dubai Marina & JLT skyline (left) and Mall of the Emirates station (right).

What's in a Number?

In celebration of metro launch--Gulf News image >>

Shaikh Mohammad punched in the first ticket exactly at 9pm, 9 minutes and 9 seconds.
Gulf News report

It's 11:11 pm as I write. I'm sitting at home, still almost 7 hrs before my first metro ride. Checking the latest news on the metro launch tonight, Gulf News announces once again the significance of the number 9:

The ninth second, of the ninth minute, of the ninth evening hour, of the ninth day, of the ninth month, of the ninth year of the second millennium is when the first metro ticket was swiped!

So what is the significance of the number 9? A quick Google check reveals...

9 - Number of the Moon; Container of all numbers; Number of known astronomical planets. Eternity; Yesod; Endings, echatology; Moons of Saturn; Number of Muses; In the I Ching, 9 is the number of Yang. Arabic Ta (Secret Knowledge ). Number of absolute completion, perfection and wisdom. Since the ennead is the final limitation, it is the acceptance of solitude and the beginning of the inward journey to the Infinite.

OK, not the best of lists--not even worth a link, but we get the picture.

Besides all of that, no one need doubt that the number nine is, from this day hence, Dubai's number!

My own images from tomorrow.

Metro Pulse, Day One

999

9-Sep-09, is kickoff day for the Dubai Metro. To counter the whingers, I would argue that this represents quite an achievement. The date was announced some time ago, at least 1½ year back by my recollection—probably much earlier.

Even had the world economic crises/fiasco not intervened, keeping a deadline like this on such a massive undertaking is highly commendable. The complainers will point to the fact that only 10 of the 29 stations on the route will actually open on kickoff day. But I still see it as a great achievement. I consider myself a proud enthusiast of one more of Dubai’s notable successes.

The Skinny:

I write too much; it's a bad habit. So here's the short of it (so you don't have to bother reading the rest).

• The new stations look fantastic!
• This blog will include my reports written live in stations and on trains--its going to be all wireless!
• I'll post my own images (both literal and figurative) taken from the windows of the trains.
• I've traveled on a few metros around the world so can make some comparisons.
• It has been exciting watching the metro materialize all over Dubai.
• Dubai deserves a lot of credit for the undertaking.
• Thank you RTA.
  That's the full Monty in few words. Cheers!

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The stations, by all indications, are highly impressive edifices that sit perched above the thoroughfares they border or lie hidden underground. Those above-ground can be described as futuristic, with curving gold-colored roofs that slope down between panes of blackened glass and appendages of cast-iron, striped walls that jut out from either side of each station and cross over the adjacent highway.

A couple of simple images will suffice to get the picture across:

Gulf News images 30-Aug-09

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On the ground reporting is to be one of the objectives of this blog. The metro is due to have wireless connectivity—yippie! So, as I sit in a hopefully not-too-crowded carriage or in the station waiting for a train, I’ll need something to do on my laptop while curious onlookers peer at my screen. I would prefer not to be working on anything private or personal.

So, why not describe the goings-on around the new metro--from ground zero and from day one (well, actually day two, with day one reserved for dignitaries). I am looking forward to turning toward the fellow commuter peering at my screen and asking, So, what do you think of the new metro…, and then adding their responses to my blog. It would be good ice-breaker too, and more enjoyable than avoiding glances, feigning pre-occupation with a book or dozing off.

There will be a lot to write about, in the initial days especially—about the views of Dubai from the windows while on the elevated track, about the look and feel of the new stations and trains, about the types of passengers riding, the number of people, etc.

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Dubai through the metro glass will be another theme of the blog, mostly told through images. I don’t have a camera phone—my nearly 50 years of age attests to my lack of tech savviness, despite being a blogger. So, I will have to carry along my digital SLR—at least this way I am assured better images--and Dubai is still a relatively crimeless city. So there should be no issue with carrying around valuables.

I am all set to start camera in hand and laptop in bag at Rashidiya station on that magical three digit date!

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My credentials as a would be metro reporter includes experience of 11 years commuting on Japan’s multifarious rail network—probably the most extensive in the world. Besides that there have been the incidental passages on metro lines in several American cities—San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta and New York—and a few locales internationally—London, Rome, Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul. So, those provide me some basis of comparison.

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Are You Excited? ~a big milestone~
I am! For the past four years, we in the UAE have watched and been impeded by construction of the metro line through various parts of Dubai. The first evident signs were the placing of columns for the miles of viaduct along Dubai’s famed Sheikh Zayed Road—the most important artery of the city dissecting much of it with 12 lanes of highway.	Imagine how Dubai residents have been burdened for years with the inconvenience of this great artery which meant that in order to get to the other side one had to have a car or taxi to travel several kilometers in, or you just remained on your side of the great divide. Now, among the metro’s many attributes, will be 29 new pedestrian crossings which will finally make it possible to get to the other side in just minutes on foot.	Well, work has been fast and furious in the months leading up to D-day. The naysayers seemed to be relishing the thought that Dubai would fail to pull off its challenging feat on target. Other naysayers have complained that the rail line would service only those who happen to live and work along its 52 km route. Well, hello, that is at least 52 km of new service and it’s a rail line not a bus route, so of course you’ll have this limitation.

Credit where its due... I don’t understand people who expect to live in an environment where all conveniences are handily in place to meet their needs. Such people have groaned endlessly about the inconveniences imposed by the extensive construction works for the line. Again, a big HELLO to these people who expect a metro, highways and buildings to live in to just be there for them without having to be constructed first.

As an expat myself, I’d hate to be one of those to rant, if you don’t like it…--UAE expats all know how the phrase ends. That said, the naysayers and complainers might be able to have their cake and eat it too if they just resided first in those places that have all these things in place—there are many cities around the world which do. Then they could come back to Dubai in 10 years time when all is done. I wouldn’t begrudge them that, if they would at least spare us their whinging.

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A word of thanks to whom I’m not sure—the RTA, the municipal government or the big man (men or women) at the top of it all? But as one among the 80-90% of the population here who are expatriate residents, it is we who will benefit most from this investment in infrastructure. It will make our lives easier as we commute, transit to and from the airport and enjoy what leisure we may have. Dubai—its officials and the powers that be—do genuinely have regard for the countless numbers and nationalities of expats here, and the Dubai metro is one concrete—steel and glass—proof of that.

Metro Links:

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• RTA's own blog, even less useful than their main site--additional RTA likes can be found there.
  
• RTA trip planner, get exact routes, times, maps, etc. for individual journeys. (This is really good!)
  
• Dos and don’ts on the metro, a Gulf News write-up.
  
• Dubai-Metro.me, offers better access to info than the RTA site.
  
• Feeder bus details, including pdf schedules and routes.