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First look: 2 new swanky Dubai Metro stations open

Dubai - The metro that headed for DIP and the Expo site was abuzz with special guests.

It was Tuesday morning when RTA teams, Expo officials, a few in-house staff and members of the media boarded the metro train as it pulled into the Jebel Ali station.

The metro that headed for DIP and the Expo site was abuzz with special guests, as many took window seats to capture the outside view from their sleek phones.

Everyone was on a maiden journey to the Dubai Investment Park (DIP) and Expo 2020 Stations which are the latest additions to Route 2020.

Meanwhile, inside the train, videographers mounted their cameras on tripods and promptly recorded pieces to cameras (PTCs) of reporters, who struggled to keep themselves steady, while narrating their PTCs.

The train crossed the newly-opened Jebel Ali (a transfer station on the Red Line), The Gardens, The Discovery Gardens, and Al Furjan stations that were inaugurated in January 2021.

Soon, these teams de-boarded at a swank winged-shaped elevated metro station with multiple skylights, elevators, escalators and the destination display showing: Expo 2020.

The station, which spans 18,800 square metres in area, extends 119 metres in length. It is flanked from the Eastern side with Expo and Expo COEX and from the Western side with the Mall and the urban complex.

Hasan Al Mutawa, Director of Rail Operations, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) says, “The metro service to Expo 2020 will be available to those accredited to access the Expo site only, until its official public opening in October this year. This is an iconic station different from all other Dubai metro stations. The theme and design was approved by our leaders and RTA in line with the Expo exhibition and it has a different flavor. That’s why it is a unique station. The station can accommodate up to 29,000 passengers per hour during the peak hours. DIP can accommodate up to 14,000 passengers per hour during the peak.”

The station design serves the integration with public transit means with spaces for buses and taxis stands comprising 6 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 4 parking slots for people of determination.

Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Development and Delivery officer for Expo says, “Today marks a major milestone that has been achieved in the journey to the opening of Expo 2020. Having the Expo 2020 station open is also an emotional moment. Since day one we worked on all the details pertaining to this with the RTA. We believe a huge chunk of visitors will be using the metro entrance. We’ve also planned with the RTA for the ‘Legacy stage’ …which is, once Expo closes its doors and how this metro station will integrate with many different modes of transportation from buses and other smart mobility. We are very proud today and cannot wait to welcome the world from October 2021.”

Meanwhile, DIP, which spans 27,000 square metres in area and extends 226 metres in length, is an underground station along with Jumeirah Golf Estates. DIP serves 250,000 riders per day and has 2 boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination.

Explaining why these stations run underground, Hasan Al Mutawa, Director of Rail Operations, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) further opines, “We have big communities above these stations and based on our studies we realized it would be best for the network and for commuters to have these two stations underground to avoid touching the existing facilities and have minimum disruption during the construction.”

He adds, “For any RTA project we put customers first. We don’t want to disrupt their journey ever. Additionally, a new operator will take over operation and maintenance for Dubai metro which is the Keolis MHI (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) consortium and RTA will closely coordinate with them to ensure the achievement of all RTA goals.”

nandini@khaleejtimes.com