Tram will be ride on time.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

With the launch of the Dubai Metro now imminent, members of the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) are surely looking forward to a well-earned break. However, far from resting on their laurels, RTA planners have been busy designing yet another congestion-busting transport system - this time in the form of a tram.

At a whopping dhs4 billion, the Al Safooh Tram project will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and is expected to be completed by April 2011. The network, originally mooted in 2006, is in direct response to increasing traffic congestion seen in the burgeoning waterfront area of the emirate, known as New Dubai.

It will stretch for 14km along Al Safooh Road, linking Madinat Jumeirah and Mall of the Emirates with Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence. Ticket prices for the tram will cost the same as Metro fares, which the RTA will be announcing in six weeks' time. They will be available to buy with a Smart card, which it is believed will also be able to be used on the Metro and other forms of public transport.

The tram path stretches parallel with the Red Line of Dubai Metro along certain parts of Sheikh Zayed Road near the Marina, where tram-metro links will also be established. It will also interlink with the monorail ofA The Palm Jumeirah at the entry point of The Palm at Al Safooh Road. Officials said at a press conference yesterday that there would be scope to extend its route.

"The project is set to serve residential and commercial areas," said Mattar Al Tayer, the chairman of the board and executive director of the RTA who unveiled the plan. "The network also covers areas such as Knowledge Village, Dubai Media City, and Dubai Internet City as well as other projects under construction in Dubai Marina, and projects in the planning phase such as Jumeirah Hills.

Unlike conventional trams, such as those seen in parts of Europe, the Al Safooh Tram will run on underground - as opposed to overhead - cables. Each tram will carry 300 passengers and will measure 44 metres in length. More than 200,000 people are expected to use the service each day. The tram will depart at less than ten-minute intervals for 20 hours each day - including late at night, with journeys between stations lasting around four to six minutes.

End-to-end, from Jumeirah Beach Residence to Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the journey will last less than 30 minutes and the trams will travel at 25kph.

Construction work is due to start sometime next month.

[c] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

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