Rashidiya Station by Car, Wifi & Tricky Nols

<< Train entering Rashidiya station toward Nakheel Harbour & Towers terminus.

Rashidiya station access by car is the topic I will look at first today. There are two entrances that I know of, possibly a third.

One is easily taken by following Airport Rd. from the direction of city center toward Khawaneej. There are signs to guide you as you near the station and finally enter by exiting right and following the driveway into the parking structure.

A second entrance is from Emirates Rd., Dubai bound from Sharjah. Again there are signs as one approaches the Rashidiya exit which requires one to basically keep right until eventually reaching the parking entrance ramp, at which point cars follow the left lane and buses/truckes follow the right. (It is all clearly marked, but the key is to remain in the far right lane while exiting Emirates Rd.)

I presume there is a third access route when coming from Emirates Rd., Sharjah bound, which most likely merges with the ramp from the Dubai bound Emirates Rd. exit. In addition, if coming along Airport Rd. from the direction of Khawaneej, one can make a U-turn at the signal just in front of the station and take the immediate right exit into the parking structure.

Wifi no goes....

My wifi troubles continue. I decided to go for as unfettered usage as possible by opting for the expensive 200 dhs package which gives one 60 hrs of use within a 60-day validity period. (It's a sucky package but that is the best per minute rate available.)

Lo and behold one cannot register with a credit card but must go and buy a Du prepaid card from somewhere. The only credit card option available is one hour for 10 dhs. So, frustrated but with no other choice, I enter all my details online to make the 10 dhs payment.

Press submit... OK. Then press proceed... nothing. Press again, wait 2, 3, 4 minutes, still nothing.

I go back to repeat the process. Enter all details and press submit... OK. Then press proceed.... Nothing! Effectively, there is no way to get online. My wifi experience on the metro just gets more and more complicated as the days go by.

Tricky Nol...

Confused by Nol? Or is it just one of the interesting ceilings in the Dubai Mall? >>

I don't think I have the knack of using the Nol card correctly yet. Does anyone?

A pamphlet handed out to me on the bus today explains that one must continue to tap the Nol card on the reader until a green flashing light appears. On exiting the bus and tapping my card, I saw only a yellow light, and somewhat distracted with a heavy bag and hands occupied I exited without re-tapping.

The lesson to be learnt, be very attentive with the Nol card! Focus, focus, make sure hands are free and any otherwise distracting issues have been put aside.

Take the Nol card in hand, zero in on the reader, wave, wiggle, press or tap the card on the reader, pay attention to all flashing lights and numbers and be ready to repeat the procedure if need be. (This applies to using the Nol card with the bus--at least on the metro the wicket won't let you through until the procedure is properly carried out.)

Now, please go back and review the process again. Fail to master it at your own peril.

Still, this leaves unanswered questions. Is there a window of time in which one must scan his/her Nol card before exiting the bus? E.g. do you scan it before the bus has stopped, while it is stopping or after it has completely stopped--or can you just take the exit scan at anytime? Can misreading occur, i.e. can a scan to get off the bus be mistakenly read as a scan to get on the bus, thus resulting in a double charge of some sort?

Just a few issues surrounding the tricky Nols. I'm sure any one who has used either bus or metro since the Nol cards debuted has a few of his or her own.

Update:

Seeing the yellow light after scanning my Nol card on exiting the bus this morning, I feared my scan was in error and I would thus be penalized. In the evening on scanning when exiting the bus again, the same result: solid yellow light, not green and flashing. So why, I wonder, does the RTA explanation read:

How to use NOL Card/Ticket...

• Check out at the end of journey by tapping the card/ticket on the card readers.
  
• A successful tag is followed by the green light blinking, and this means that the check-in/check-out was successful.
  
• Must continue tapping the reader until the green light blinks.

This info is contained in a pamphlet I was handed while sitting on the bus this morning. However, having done the check-out procedure twice now, I have yet to see any green light, only yellow. Am I color blind? As I've said, tricky Nol. In the end both check-outs registered as normal and I was not charged any additional fares. It was a false alarm, but it certainly added to my confusion today. << SZR towers near Financial Center metro station at dusk.

P.S.

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For clarification (maybe) visit the NOL home--it's actually a well-laid out, informative site.

Read a fascinating description of an upcoming attraction for another one of Dubai's incredible landmarks:
Experience At The Top of the world vistas at Burj Dubai observatory.

Terminal 3

It was evening Saturday, on the eve of Eid.

I somewhat reluctantly took the metro thinking it would be crowded with holiday riders.

My friend wanted to buy an airline ticket and I suggested we do it at Terminal 3 rather than taking the metro to Deira City Center or Mall of the Emirates, where I was sure we would face crowds.

It was also a good excuse to see both the terminal metro station and the new terminal itself.

It was a very short ride from Rashidiya station to T3 station--only one stop.

Rashidiya station wasn't crowded although there were obviously holiday riders--more women, children and families than one would see during the week.




The metro viaduct snakes toward the airport from Rashidiya.>>

I decided to explore the 7 level parking structure at the station with my friend, as I had the time, unlike when commuting to work.

It was surprising to see how massive the structure was with so little of it yet being utilized. There were fully seven levels of parking but only Level 1 and half of Level 2 had cars--only a small percentage of the 2700 car capacity.

The top level in fact was still partly under construction.



<< Train returns to Rashidiya station after switching tracks.

The top level also offered a vantage point for viewing the metro station and any incoming trains from above.

From there I could see how the trains leave the terminus and then soon return by simply switching tracks and heading back into the station, with carriages in the same orientation.

What this means is that the privileged Gold Class compartment is at the rear of the train when Rashidaya bound and, then, only at the head of the train when traveling from Rashidiya to Nakheel Harbour & Tower station at the opposite end of the line.



All Quiet on Both Fronts

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Terminal 3 metro platforms, one above the other. >>

It doesn't seem that airport commuters have taken to making much use of the metro yet as I have yet to see many passengers either embarking or disembarking there.

Today, my friend and I were the only ones to alight at the Terminal 3 station. The station itself was gleaming, and of very different design from the other stations.

It is smaller and interestingly has its two platforms stacked above and below each other.




<< The optical illusion of an escalator going down then up is somewhat disorientating on the T3 footbridge.

One takes the footbridge from the station directly into the airport terminal and again the design is completely different from that at any of the other foot bridgers.

The moving sidewalk, ironically, is much narrower--perhaps to discourage the transport of large pieces of luggage.

Once reaching Terminal 3 one finds himself/herself in a massive hall. But like the station it was extremely quiet of human traffic.



New terminal big and well-designed, but not particularly elegant. >>

I suppose the design of the metro station was intended to complement that of the terminal, but I would say that the metro station designs, whether this one or any of the others, were much more avant garde and stylish than the new airport terminal which, while massive, was rather uninspiring.

I feel the metro stations, whatever the type--underground, above ground or the unique airport stations--are so well-designed, not only functionally but even more so aesthetically.




<< Futuristic lighting in the Khalid Bin al Waleed station (aka Bur Juman). See more of Bur Juman station.

Several different adjectives could be used to describe the stations, which incorporate a variety of themes.

These include modern, post-modern and futuristic, also historical, elegant and grand. I love these stations... the trains are great, but the stations are incredible!

PM Commute

The pride of Dubai: 165-story Burj Dubai, seen through tinted glass from the top deck of the 98E bus.

It's 6 pm now and I'm on the commute back home, leaving Jafliya station and heading underground to my favorite, Bur Juman station. I won't be getting off there, however. It's back to Rashidiya and then my drive back to Ajman.

I struggled with the bus in the morning but am now getting the hang of it. Wojhati, that online route planner with the Arabic name is becoming more user friendly to me. So, with a feeling of accomplishment I got the bus from work on time and on the right route, got a lot of photos enroute and happily topped up my Nol card when I reached the station.

From office door, a brief walk to the bus stop, a few minutes wait for the bus, a 10 minute ride, then off the bus and into the station terminal in a couple hundred meters--all like clockwork. Finally!

Burj Dubai seen from ground level.

The Financial Center metro station.

Once on the train I crowded in the front car with a few other passengers, all wielding cameras or mobile phones and getting snaps of metro rail, buildings that line either side and approaching stations and trains. It's day 4 or 5 of the metro and the buzz is still in the air. I don't know how long we will all be allowed to take photos at will of station, trains, the cabins and our fellow passengers, but it is fun while it lasts.

Up the escalator of the station foot bridge.

The foot bridge across Sheikh Zayed Rd.

There isn't any evidence of rush hour commuting yet as even at this time it is easy to find a seat, although most are taken. The mix of passengers includes the various nationality types who populate the city. Most are men aged 20-40, probably the largest demographic grouping in the city. But there are some women, couples and the odd family. Most of the men appear to be working class or professionals. I see the occasional dishdasha and abaya as well.

Passengers wait on the platform for their train.

View of the track through the towers of SZR.

Over the intercom is a continuing string of BGM--actually a modern sounding, upbeat little melody that repeats every 9 seconds. Announcements are in Arabic then English. Well, I'm just exiting the underground portion of the route with two stations to go to my stop.

A fellow passenger takes in the views.

From the front car it resembles a rollercoaster.

I'll try to get in a couple more pictures.

Bur Juman Station (& Bus Travails)

Khalid Bin al Waleed is the correct name of this station, but that's a bit of a mouthful, and I think most people prefer its nom de guerre, Bur Juman. It is one of four underground stations on the new Red line and to my sense it is quite simply grand.



The pictures here will attest to that. But I must add that it isn't very large. It consists basically of 3 underground levels. The uppermost is the ticket lobby which stands out with its flourescent blue light panels on the ceiling. Below this is the mid-level which, while little more than an escalator lobby of sorts between the ticket and boarding floors, is festooned with historic photographic murals and grandiose jellyfish chandeliers. The lowest level, with the boarding platforms, has similar murals--all floors do--and all floors are bathed in iridescent blue light. Words cannot adequately describe the grandeur, but pictures can. It is all so rich--I absolutely love it.

Before I go on, I must digress, however, with a word of warning on the use of the Nol card with buses.

Beware of Bus Transfers

Let me start off this little aside by giving away my sentiment about the buses--They SUCK--Royally!! How can I limit this to a few sentences?

The buses here have the most convoluted routes and it is nearly impossible to get actionable information so that you can use the buses without having to rely on trial and error. (Maybe the new Feeder buses represent a degree of improvement. My concern and great frustration is with the regular run of buses that many of us are forced to rely on with only 10 metro stations open.)

Without going into tedious detail, I would suffice it to say that I am going through a lot of trials and even more errors in trying to figure out how to get from A to B on the sucking buses.

The buses, themselves, are actually quite magnificent--big, brawny, cool and comfortable--but the drivers, the human interface, are the weak link (if not the missing link). They are useless as sources of information about their own routes and they seem for the most part quite happy to stop or not stop as they please for pick-ups and drop-offs. They basically ignore whatever their official duties are apart form pressing a gas pedal and steering.

Too bad we can't have driverless buses.

Now, the thing to beware...

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When you swipe your Nol card to get on the bus and to presumably get a free journey after disembarking the metro, there are a couple of issues.

One is that when you later swipe the card again to get off the bus, the bus may interpret this not as an ending swipe but a new starting swipe, so you may get double charged.

Even worse, if you fail to swipe your card on exit, which I decided to do in order to avoid getting charged double, you instead get charged the maximum travel charge. Now on buses, this is 2 dhs--no big deal, right? But it doesn't work like this. You don't get charged the maximum bus fare, you get charged the maximum metro fare! So it's 5.8 dhs.

I did this twice unaware of what was happening, so my Nol card ended up with a negative balance and when I went to top it up, it instead sucked up all the money I had just put in and left me with still a negative balance. The moral of the story? The buses SUCK! And I threw that sucking Nol card away and decided to take a loss and start all over again with a new card.

Ok--got that off my chest--now back to the magnificent Bur Juman station. Feast on the images. Viva Khalid Bin al Waleed!!

This just in from the RTA...

Inquiring about these high bus charges, I was told that the buses are now on the same fee structure as the Metro. I don't remember any public announcements of the same, but there you go... a Unified Fare System.

That explains a lot. I had wondered why the 5 Zones indicated for Metro charges seemed somewhat irrelevant as the Metro didn't pass through some of the listed zones. Now, those still carrying the former bus cards with credit still on them will still get charged the flat 2 Dhs fare.

One more thing...

indicating that the RTA are not all bad. I called 3 days ago informing them of a bus shelter with non-functioning a/c. When I visited the shelter today, I found the a/c had been repaired. The many cynical among the public never bother to call to report such faults.
Thanks RTA

Khalid Bin al Waleed Station on the Dubai Metro

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Jellyfish chandeliers at Bur Juman metro station in Dubai.

(Click on images for enlarged views.)

Historic photographic images line the walls of the metro station.

Passengers make their way between the boarding platform and ticket levels.

Metallic blue reflective panels function to bathe the escalator shaft in blue.
Blue iridescent lighting floods the ticket lobby.

The beautiful historic murals feature both in the ticket lobby and on the platforms.
	Khalid Bin al Waleed station is sort of like a living museum. For a space intended as little more than a transit hub it is impossible not to want to linger. Green line passengers, once it opens in 2010, will be able to soothe their minds feast their eyes as well in this elegant blue zone.

Addendum to the Bus Fiasco

I submitted the following message to the RTA,

Bus charged me Dhs 5.8 for not swiping out! It's a bus not the metro, so why this maximum charge? It happened twice, registered a negative balance on my Nol card, then when I topped up my Nol card with 10 dhs it immediately ate it up and left me still with a negative balance. I threw the damn Nol card away and bought a new one. Please fix this. Buses should not be charging metro fares whether one swipes when getting off or not!

Please, if anyone else encounters such bus fiascoes, complain direct to the RTA.