Dubai Metro’s Green Line set to launch Sept 9

Dubai Metro’s Green Line will open on Friday, September 9, adding a further 18 stations and 23km to the emirate’s existing rail network, the Roads and Transport Authority said Tuesday. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will launch the much-anticipated line, which will allow commuters to switch between the Metro’s Green and Red Line at Union and Khalid bin Al Waleed stations. All of the Green Line stations will open to the public except Al Jadaf and Creek Stations, as the real estate developments they were intended to serve have yet to be completed.   The number of trains operating on both lines during peak hours will increase to 50 during peak times and 28 during off-peak times. The CEO of the Dubai Metro operator, Serco Middle East, said in July the Green Line would not see any of the teething problems that accompanied the launch of the Red Line. “We learnt a lot from the first opening and we have taken those lessons into account in project planning for the Green Line,” Zafar Raja said. “We anticipate it will be much easier as a vast amount of the public will have used the Red Line, so we expect [the issues] to be negligible.” More than 10 percent of the up to 2,000 staff operating the line will be Emirati, he said. Raja said the total passenger count for both lines is forecast to increase from about 190,000 daily to at least 250,000 once the Green Line is fully operational. The Green Line’s starting point is Etisalat station, at Al Qusais near Emirates Road, before moving to stops Al Qusais, Airport Free Zone, Al Nahda, Al Qiyadah station on Al Ittihad road, Abhu Hail, Abu Baker Al Siddique, Salah Uddin and then Union station, where both metro lines intersect. The Green Line then moves through Baniyas Square, Palm Deira, Al Ras, Al Ghubaiba. Al Fahidi, Khalid bin Al Waleed and to Dubai Healthcare City. From / Arabian Business News