Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that Route 2020, the extension of the Dubai Metro line from Jabal Ali Station to Expo 2020 station, would start commercial operation on 01/01/2021.
“The initial operation phase would cover four stations, namely: Jebel Ali (interchange station), The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, and Al Furjan Stations, and the other remaining three stations would be opened later on,” said Al Tayer.
“RTA celebrates the New Year by starting the operation of Route 2020, which serves densely populated districts inhabited by 270k persons such as The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Real Estates, and the Dubai Investment Park as well as the site of Dubai Expo.
“The selection of stations for operation on the first of January was based on several perimeters namely the density of population nearby the station, anticipated number of riders, commercial activities in the area served by the stations, and the link with other public transit means at each station.
“The opening of Route 2020 for the public follows the successful completion of four operational tests and trials that included the static test of metro carriages and systems, test of the rolling stock without passengers, the operational trial to check the system reliability and stability, and the operational trials carried out by the operator of the metro service to verify the readiness before the start of the commercial service,” explained Al Tayer.
Service Timing
“The first journey on Route 2020 will start from Jabal Ali Station to Al Furjan Station and in the opposite direction. Journeys will start at 05:00 am and end at 12:00 (midnight) from Saturday to Wednesday. On Thursday, the first journey will start at 05:00 am, and the last journey will start at 01:00 am, (of the following day).
“On Friday, the first journey will start at 10:00 am and the last one will be at 01:00 am (of the following day). The journey between Jabal Ali and Al Furjan stations takes about six minutes. The service frequency (headway) will be 10 minutes at a rate of six trains per hour. The route can serve 4,176 riders per hour per direction,” noted Al Tayer.
“19 buses on four routes will serve Route 2020 stations to ease the mobility of riders from and to each station. Two of these routes will call at The Gardens Station, and the other two at Al Furjan Station. The taxi service will be available at the operating stations,” he added.
Four Stations
All the four operating stations are elevated stations. The first is the Jabal Ali Station, an interchange station with the Red Line. The station spans 8800 square metres in area and extends 150 metres in length. It can serve 17000 riders per hour during peak times and 320,000 riders per day. The station has four rail boarding platforms, four bus stands, 17 taxi stands and seven parking slots for people of determination. It also offers eight outlets of 388 square metres for commercial investment.
The second is the Gardens station covering 8100 square metres in area and extending 168 metres in length. It can serve 6770 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day. The station has two rail boarding platforms, four bus stands, 20 taxi stands and two parking slots for people of determination. It also offers five outlets of 161 square metres for commercial investment.
The third is the Discovery Gardens which spans an area of 8600 square metres and extends 168 metres in length. It can serve 6770 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day.
The station has two rail boarding platforms, four bus stands, 20 taxi stands and two parking slots for people of determination. It also offers four outlets of 149 square metres for commercial investment.
The fourth is Al Furjan station spanning 8400 square metres in area and extending 168 metres in length. It can serve 6770 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day.
The station has two rail boarding platforms, four bus stands, 20 taxi stands and two parking slots for people of determination. It also offers four outlets of 149 square metres for commercial investment.
Capacity
Route 2020 has a capacity of 46,000 riders per hour in both directions (23,000 riders per hour per direction). RTA’s studies anticipate the number of riders using Route 2020 to reach 125,000 riders per day in 2021, and increase to 275,000 riders per day by 2030.
Studies also reveal that Expo Station is expected to serve about 35,000 daily visitors of Expo during weekdays, and the number to increase to 47,000 daily visitors during weekends. This number accounts for 29% of the total expected number of daily visitors to Expo.
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