• Home

Metro’s Red Line to Have Wayside Obstacle Detection System

DUBAI — A Wayside Obstacle Detection System that will protect the guide way of the Dubai Metro from intrusion by vehicles and other objects has been developed by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), officials said.

With the Red Line of the state-of-the-art driverless system all set for operations from September 9, Ramadan Abdullah, Director of Rail Projects, said the front and rear cameras of the trains will constantly monitor and record the tracks.

There is also derailment containment by means of a concrete plinth through the metro line, Abdullah said.

All staff in the trains and stations will be trained as the first response team to provide first aid before the police and paramedics arrived in case of an untoward incident.

There are provisions of concrete barriers and enhanced parapets on the bridges to assure minimal safety hazards from outside. The radio system will be integrating the metro with the emergency services.

An Automatic Train Protection (ATP) is also in place. If any train breaks down on the track, all trains behind it will stop automatically as the ATP will send alerts.

The system will also alert the control room about the locations of all trains, the official said.

The trains will be run by computers at the Central Control Room. The computers have software backups for extra protection.

Power will be supplied to the lines and stations through two main power units. The RTA has also built a third standby unit for emergency, 
Abdullah said.

An intruder alarm system is also in place to prevent people from entering the guide way.

If a train stops at a viaduct and the next station is far (endless point), there will be staircases in certain points of these viaducts for passengers to leave the train and get down.

METRO METER

• Metro will operate from 6am to 12 midnight
• One round trip is 2.33 hours; one-way trip is 1.12 hours
• Train frequency: Every 3.45 minutes during peak hours; 7 minutes during off peak hours Stations are located every 1.5km (average)
• Each train can carry 643 passengers in five cabins

joy@khaleejtimes.ae