Dubai Metro set for massive expansion
RTA chief says new lines will added to network by 2030
Dubai Metro will cover 421km and have 197 stations by 2030, the RTA chief says.
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The Dubai Metro is set for a massive expansion as the emirate’s population continues to grow, the head of the Roads and Transport Authority said on Thursday.
Mattar Al Tayer, the chairman of the Board and executive director of the authority, told Khaleej Times that the expansion of the network would include extensions to the red and green lines, along with the development of new lines and connections to the proposed Etihad Rail network.
Land has been acquired to widen the existing network, Al Tayer said, adding that the extended network would cover 421km, with 197 stations. He said that work was scheduled to be completed by 2030, in three phases.
“Three new Metro lines – blue, gold and purple – and a Jumeirah tram route will be up and running by 2030,” he was quoted as saying in the paper. “Besides these, the current red and green lines will grow longer and will serve a growing population in the densely populated urban areas of Dubai.”
By the time the new route is completed, Al Tayer said that it was expected that 30% of Dubai’s residents to use public transport. Planners estimate that the emirate’s population will be in excess of 3.1 million by 2020, the paper said.
“The general blueprint of the train network is in three phases – 2020, 2025 and 2030 – keeping in mind planned urban growth in the Emirate,” Al Tayer said. “In the first phase, train projects along a 24.1km long corridor with 12 stations will be completed.”
“The green line will cover Jaddaf to Dubai Academic City with 11 stations, a distance of 20.6km. Once the first phase of the extension work is complete, Dubai’s train network will have 109km over 70 stations,” he added.
