Singing Pig

Thanks for the updates to whats going on Yellow Bird. Keep them coming.

YB

I very much agree with the previous contributor that your contributions are very helpful; and I personally look for updates every day

New Project on Waterfront By Nakheel

Town Houses,3Bedvillas,4bedvilla. 

www.veneto.ae

Dh4-billion tram system for Dubai

A newly proposed Dh4-billion tram system for Dubai’s Al Safooh district along the Gulf coast will link thousands of residents by 2011.

The Roads and Transport Authority unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to construct in its early stages 9.5 kilometres of twin track at ground level to host 11 tram trains to be built by a consortium of European and American firms.

The tram is not to be confused with the heavier and much more costly Dubai Metro that will travel high above ground on concrete viaducts and will usher passengers over much longer distances through the entire city.

The new tram, officials said, will connect a much smaller community of roughly 180,000 residents and offer a vital link to the Red Line of the metro.

An estimated 210,000 people also work in that area of the city.

The first phase of construction along Al Safooh Road should be completed by April 9, 2011 and will link Madinat Jumeirah and Mall of the Emirates with Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence.

Each train will carry 300 passengers who can use their RTA Smart cards to pay to ride a light-rail system that will draw electrical power from a ground-level railway network rather than from overhead lines.

There will be 19 passenger stations along the tram line.

At a press conference at Madinat Jumeirah’s Mina Al Salam Hotel, Al Tayer was upbeat about the quality of life the project will bring to an area of the city that hosts such icons as Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and a skyline full of newly built Dubai Marina residential towers.

“It is the first of its kind in the UAE,” Al Tayer told reporters, adding the tram will ease traffic congestion in Dubai when motorists decide to take the train rather than their cars.

There will be 11 trains running on the first phase of the Al Safooh Tram and 14 more will be added in a second phase of construction that will extend the tram track to a total of 14 kilometres, he said.

The trains will be 44 metres long and operate 20 hours each day allowing for some time for maintenance crews at a train depot to do routine checks.

The contract to build the system was awarded by the RTA to a consortium comprised of French Alstom, Belgium-based Besix as well as Serco of the UK and Parsons of the United States.

Parsons was involved in the original stages of the Dubai Metro and Serco has already been selected to operate the metro system for 10 years at a reported cost of 400 British pounds.

The news comes almost a week Emaar developers announced it would build a half-billion-dirham light railway system to connect the world’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai – to the proposed Dubai Metro along Shaikh Zayed Road.

The Emaar shuttle network will link Downtown Burj Dubai neighbourhood’s 30,000 homes, more than 200 towers, nine hotels and the world’s largest mall.

The Burj Dubai system is 4.6-kilometres long.

FAST FACTS

• Each train will carry 300 passengers
• The cost of the project is Dh4 billion
• In Phase One, 11 trains will operate on 9.5 kilometres of track
• In Phase Two, 14 more tram trains will be added and the twin-track will be extended to a total of 14 kilometres
• Ultimately, the RTA plans to build a total of 270 kilometres of tram track throughout Dubai to link all of its communities via modern public transport
• Tram trains are 44 metres long and 2.65 metres wide
• Trams will be air-conditioned and contain public information systems
• Phase One will be completed in 34 months
• Phase Two is expected to be completed by April 4, 2011

 

Airport-Jebel Ali metro link planned




Dubai: The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) on Wednesday announced a new metro link between the Dubai International Airport and Jebel Ali International Airport, called the Purple Line, costing Dh10 billion.

Construction of the 49-km link will begin in 2009 and will be completed in three years, a senior RTA official said.

RTA has signed an agreement with Parsons Brinckerhoff, an international consultant for the initial design of the ‘Purple Line’.

The 49-km long Purple Line will be fast track line connected Dubai International Airport and the under construction Jebel Ali International Airport.

“The Purple Line will be built at an estimated cost of Dh10 billion and it will main serve passengers commuting between the two airports in addition to major communities in near areas,” said Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA.

The Purple Line will have eight stations including three major stations with ‘Check In’ facilities for passengers intending to travel from either of the two airports.

“Passengers will be able to check in at the stations, take boarding passes, take the train to travel straight to the airport without any hassle,” Al Tayer said.

Purple Line will have high speed trains with maximum speed of 135 to 160 km per hour while the average speed of the train will be 100 km per hour.

The train will cove the 49-km of distance including stay at the stations within 40 minutes.

The construction will start in March 2009 and is scheduled to finish in 45 months in December 2012.

Residents and visitors to Dubai will see the trains running on the test track on part of Shaikh Zayed Road next month.

"The test run will be conducted on a 3.5km stretch of the track between Ibn Battuta station and the Mall of the Emirates and Jebel Ali Industrial Area station," Gulf News has learnt. The test run is expected to start from May 15.

"We have already put the first train on the track on Friday and currently it is being assembled and undergoing various technical tests before we start running it on the test track after two weeks," a senior official said.

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), which is carrying out the Dh15.5-billion Dubai Metro project, said the train will undergo full tests to monitor noise, wobbling and electromechanical compatibility for early detection of any trouble to address these before passenger service is provided starting September 9, 2009.

The first stage, which is called 'static test' phase, involves placing a stationary train vehicle on a track and performing system tests covering communication systems, signalling systems, power supplies, air-conditioning, on-board electronics and lighting.

Second test

On passing the first phase, there will be a second phase known as the 'dynamic test' to run the train on the track without passengers on board.

It involves tests of various systems while the train is in motion, including propulsion and brake test, load tests, traction power tests, electromagnetic compatibility tests, automatic train operation tests, communication tests and speed tests.

He said residents and motorists will not be disturbed by the train noise once it is fully operational because it will not produce any vibration or sound.

Passengers sitting inside a train will not hear any road noise while residents in buildings along the elevated and underground tracks will not feel any vibration or hear any noise.

At least two trains have already arrived in Dubai from Japan for the test run.

"Arrival of the first batch of trains in Dubai marked another important milestone for the Dubai Metro Project," said Al Tayer

After the test run for two months, three to four trains will start arriving every month from June onwards. Around 44 trains will run on the Red Line at the time of its launching. Once fully operational, a total of 79 trains will run on both the Metro lines, including 62 on the 52.1-km- long Red Line and 17 trains on the 22.5km Green Line.

The interior design of the trains is based on water and air theme.

Every train will have three classes - the Golden Class, the Women and Children Class and the Silver Class. The Silver Class, which is economy class, will be given four out of five compartments.

The Golden Class, which will be open to all but for an extra charge, will have luxurious interiors with leather seating. The women and children's compartments will have plenty of space for strollers and bags.

The Silver Class has been finished in a combination of blues and greens. Seating is arranged in a variety of ways. Safety measures have been taken for both seated and standing passengers. There will be six wheelchair spaces in every train.

Train compartments will be equipped with audiovisual devices with LCD screens. Trains will also have Wi-Fi internet facility.

Trains will be driverless and controlled from the main control room.

They will be operated with electricity with 'third power track' technology, meaning the power supply will be through the track.

Emaar Properties unveiled plans on Wednesday for a $136 million advanced tram system for its Downtown Burj Dubai flagship project.

A half-billion-dirham light railway system was unveiled on Wednesday by Emaar developers to connect the world’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai – to the proposed Dubai Metro along Shaikh Zayed Road.

The shuttle network will link Downtown Burj Dubai neighbourhood’s 30,000 homes, more than 200 towers, nine hotels and the world’s largest mall.

The 4.6-kilometre rail system will tout “low level floors throughout for ease of passenger access, and on-board facilities such as upholstered seating, provisions for special needs people, luggage space, and passenger information & multimedia displays,” the company said in a statement.

The line will be a driverless operation run from a central command centre located at the Burj Dubai.

“Transportation is universally regarded as the top mega-city infrastructure challenge, which also has the biggest impact on any project’s competitiveness,” said Mohammad Ali Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, in a statement. “Congestion costs have a critical bearing on any project’s overall growth as well as the environment. It is imperative to have an efficient transportation infrastructure in place to drive the progress of any mega-project.”

Alabbar said the tram system is “environmentally viable and can deliver sustainable solutions for the long-term.”

The system will be up and running buy 2009 and will be constructed in two phases with the first, including a 1.1 km twin track running between the Burj Place interchange station with Dubai Metro and the Dubai Mall. It will take three minutes to travel one way.

The second stage of the project – to be completed by 2010 -- will see a complete loop built around the fringe of 500-acre Burj Dubai neighbourhood development and will be a monorail. The system will feature 10 stations and will take eight minutes to travel.

The new tram will be linked with the Dubai Metro to use the universal “smart cards” that will be made available by the RTA to ride everything from the metro to the bus in Dubai.

Tatweer (Dubailand) and Disney are currently in discussions. Watch this space. Hopefully a positive announcement coming soon for Dubai regarding Disney parks and resorts in Dubai.

The Walt Disney Company