The cost of the Dubai metro system was reported to be $7.6 billion after costs escalated in the first few years of building. But with the green line opening the potential passenger numbers were extended and the numbers using the Metro were significantly increased. There are still a few stations on both the Red Line and the Green Line that are yet to open and once they are this should also increase revenue.

The full article can be found here.

Where in the past it was the priority of the RTA to get the green line up and running and to make sure all of the stations were completed (even if a few are still not open), now comes the time to think about making some upgrades to the overall Dubai metro experience.

One of the key facts that has been a bugbear of metro users over the last few years is the matter of Friday opening hours. When the metro first started the first train on a Friday was at 2pm. It has since been brought forward to 1pm but this still does not appease those that wish to use the Metro on a Friday morning. For many people this is their only day off and they want to go out and do things and not wait until early afternoon to do so. The malls open in the morning so for people without a car it seems crazy that the metro does not also open on a Friday morning.

Although it may be some times until the changes are made we just have to hope that the RTA take on board the opinions of the masses and give us longer opening hours on a Friday.

The bike stands will be available at both red and green line stations and will further encourage use of the metro from those who live within a cycle ride of the vicinity.

You can check out the whole report here.

In particular, on car free day, the trains were packed and possibly not equipped for that kind of usage on a regular basis. It seems unlikely that it is possible to increase the capacity of the trains unless the station platforms have been designed to accept trains with more carriages.

However, it does look possible that the frequency of trains can be increased from the current level. How often do the Dubai Metro trains run I hear you ask? Well in the rush hour the trains run approximately every 4 minutes with bigger gaps (8 minutes) out of rush hour. So, there is scope to increase more trains although this will inevitably put a greater strain on the system and will also involve the cost of buying new trains.

Blue Nol cards usually cost 70 dirhams which includes a 20 dirham credit for fares but the discount offer gives you a blue Nol card for 35 dirhams. However, the discounted card has no fare credit attached.

Another thing you should note is that if you buy your blue Nol card online, the usual price of 70 dirhams will apply. You can buy the card online and have it delivered to your home (you will need a credit card, an ID card and a personal photo). In order to get the discounted card you will need to buy it at Metro or Bus stations.

It has long been a bugbear of users of the Dubai Metro station that they had to get a bus from the station to the Dubai Mall or the Burj Khalifa. It seemed like bad planning that the mall and the Metro did not meet and you had to wait around for a bus to turn up to link the two. So the news will come as a great relief to those who use the Dubai Metro regularly to get to the Mall, whether that be for work or pleasure.

The walkway is planned to be up and running by 2013 and each of the travelators will be between 80 and 120 metres in length with additional space for people to walk in between the travelators that go in either direction. The plan is that the walkway can also be used by others who are not using the Metro as there are other events that often happen in the area.

The Dubai Metro will run until 5.30am on 1st January and trains will be very frequent, running at every 3 minutes. There will also be increased frequency of bus services and a large number of taxis deployed all night.

Like quite a few of the other stations there are some tasteful and locally inspired decorations in Union station, particularly on the platforms, although the design is not as ostentatious as that at Khalid bin al Waleed station with its complex and rather extravagant chandeliers.

Old sepia photos used for a mural at Union Station

Union Station is certainly one of the more functional stations of Dubai metro – there is a massive hall on the top floor that gives the impression it could cope with thousands of passengers during a busy rushhour and for a change in Dubai, the signage is pretty good to direct you to the right platform for your train.

The large hall area of the Union Station interchange on Dubai Metro

Overall the station is very clean as per all of the Dubai metro stations and also is still waiting on a number of the shops to open that are positioned in the hall. Likely that will take a while to get them all occupied and busy enough to be viable.

The Dubai Metro is progressing as a great mode of public transport for anyone living or visiting Dubai. Hopefully as the number so passengers increase more of the lines that were planned will be put back on schedule for development in the coming years.

The hours will be extended from the beginning of Eid until Thursday 10th November and during this time the Dubai Metro will open earlier at 5.50am (1pm on Friday) and close later at 1am.

As well as announcing these changes to the operating hours, all other public transport operating hours will also be extended, including those of the feeder buses.

The RTA has also announced that it will be extending services at the Burj Khalifa Metro station so that the transfer of passengers between the Metro station and Dubai Mall works more smoothly during Eid al Adha. The improvements to feeder buses and traffic systems will be in effect from 6th to 9th November include installing additional gates, increasing the frequency of the feeder buses and separating entry and exit points.

The initiative last year saw large increases in the number of people using the Dubai Metro and it is expected that the same will happen this year. In fact with the opening of the Green line last month, it is likely that the number of travellers on the Dubai Metro will be the highest number to date.

So, if you haven’t yet tried the Dubai Metro or even any other of the country’s public transport systems, and want to get a feel of what it might be like to use it to commute to work or just to go to a few of the malls, then 1st November is the perfect day to take it for a ride and leave those car fumes behind!

The RTA are making this an annual event and hoping to get even more people to use public transport which in any case is very cheap compared to many other countries. Even though the roads are much quieter than they have been in preceding years, the idea is to get as many people using public transport as possible in the coming years.