Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said its key unit Rails Agency has completed Phase One of the Rails Infrastructure Maintenance Management System Project (RIMMS) which involves the compiling of a comprehensive database.

The project, which plays a key role in leveraging the performance of Dubai Metro and Tram and upgrading the services on offer to various community segments, is being implemented in five phases, said a statement from RTA.

The second phase covers conducting field inspection and testing, the third relates to upgrading of data analysis units, the fourth pertains to developing and operating the maintenance software and the final phase involves the maintenance and integration of the program with RTA’s asset management systems, it stated.

Abdul Mohsin Ibrahim Younes, the chief executive of RTA’s Rail Agency, said: "Phase I of this project includes assessing the current maintenance systems, upgrading the rail infrastructure assets database, and exploring IT potentials in managing the current maintenance systems."

"It also includes benchmarking these systems with the best practices in Britain and the US, improving the current inspection & maintenance procedures of rail infrastructure assets, and setting up a structure for the program proposed for this system," noted Younes.

"Given the importance of the project, and as it is set for final completion by mid-2018, there would be a sufficient time for training a team of Emirati secondary school finishers," he added.

According to him, the RIMMS, which is integrated with RTA information management systems, would help the Rail Agency to develop an advanced program and rank the RTA among the pioneering entities in this regard.

The RIMMS also aims to create opportunities to improve the current maintenance methods, analyze maintenance cost during the assets lifespan, adopt more systematic inspection procedures and create a basis to perform a comprehensive analysis of the rail infrastructure assets management, he added.-TradeArabia News Service