The work on the Route 2020 project in Dubai is progressing as per schedule with over 12 per cent of the project already completed.

Route 2020 extends 15 km from Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station on the Red Line, comprising 11.8 km as an elevated track and 3.2 km as an underground track. It has seven stations, including an interchange station, one station at Expo site, three of them elevated and two underground stations.

The capacity of Route 2020 is 46,000 riders per hour in both directions (23,000 riders per hour per direction). The ridership of the Route is expected to hit 125,000 riders per day by 2020 and the number is expected to shoot up to 275,000 riders per day by 2030, said a statement from Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The contractor is currently inserting piles at a depth of 25 to 30 m, and work has started on casting concrete pillars of the metro viaduct, it stated.

Mattar Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of RTA, said this stage would be a milestone in the progress chart of the project works marking the emergence of the project components, which would be visible to road users and inhabitants of nearby areas.

He led a delegation to France for inspecting the progress in the manufacturing of 50 new trains for Dubai Metro. These trains will be supplied by the French Alstom Company as part of Route 2020 Project.

The delegation also reviewed the latest developments in transit modes and smart systems in a bid to realise the 10 X initiative of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.

Such initiative aims to sustain the competitiveness of Dubai rendering it a city for the future through innovative ideas & solutions that run 10 years ahead of other cosmopolitan cities.

During the visit, Al Tayer and the accompanying delegation comprising several officials of RTA’s Rail Agency inspected the progress in the manufacturing of 50 new trains for the Dubai Metro.

Alstom has a contract with the RTA to supply 50 trains 15 of which will serve Expo 2020 and the other 35 trains will upgrade the level of service of Dubai Metro.

"The RTA has introduced some additions and modifications to the interior design of the metro carriages such as dedicating the last carriage for ladies and children and leaving part of the first carriage for the Gold Class and other carriages for Silver Class," remarked Al Tayer.

"Seats will be transversal in the Gold Class, and longitudinal in the Silver Class as well as Ladies & Children Carriage. The exterior design of trains will remain as it is to maintain the design identity of the Dubai Metro and its familiar colours to the public," he explained.

"Additions include revamping the designs without affeccting the identity through new designs for the handles, lighting, and locations of digital signage (VBSD). They also include an illuminated dynamic map for the metro route and stations, using LED power-saving lighting system, and modifying the design of the luggage compartment to make it usable by standing commuters," noted Al Tayer.

"Improvements also cover the shape and the number of handles, the use of modern digital display systems, distributing seats at the two sides of the train and increasing the gangway connecting between carriages. The new carriages are customised to the use of People of Determination and the smooth boarding and alighting of riders," he added.-TradeArabia News Service