DUBAI: Work on Route 2020, a 15-km extension of Dubai Metro, is on track with 70 per cent overall completion rate, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced on Saturday.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, inspected the route recently to monitor the progress of construction work.
Branching out from Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station on the Red Line, the extension covers 11.8km elevated track, which has been completed, and a 3.2km underground track.
According to Al Tayer, 80 per cent of the rail work has been completed along with around 60 per cent of the station works. The new metro carriages have commenced arrival in Dubai since August 2018, and the construction of viaducts was completed in November last year.
All rail works of Route 2020 are scheduled for completion by May 2019. RTA will start the test-run of the Metro in February 2020.
11.8 km
elevated track on Route 2020, while 3.2km is underground track522,000 passengers
The Expo Station, which is set to handle millions of visitors as it is the gateway to the Expo Site, is 50 per cent completed.
The station has the capacity to handle up to 522,000 passengers per day in both directions, at a rate of 29,000 passengers per hour per direction.
More than half of the work on Al Furjan station has been completed with the installation of the metal structure and roof cladding.
522000
passengers that the Expo Station can handle dailyWork on Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station, which is the transfer station, has also reached halfway mark.
Al Tayer revealed these details during an inspection tour to several stations including Expo, Al Furjan and Nakheel Harbour & Tower Stations. He attended a briefing by Abdul Mohsin Ebrahim Younes, CEO of Rail Agency; and Abdul Reda Abu Al Hasan, Executive Director of Rail Planning & Projects Development.
Al Tayer inspected the work progress of Expo Station; one of project’s key stations. The station has been meticulously designed to ensure accessibility and smooth operations at all times.
The multi-level structure of the station comprises a ground floor, mezzanine, concourse and a train platform level. It will serve the Expo 2020 site and the surroundings as it extends from Expo Village and Expo Mall to the West, and to Expo Yard towards the East.
The central corridor at the concourse level links pedestrian movement between the two sides of the station. It has been designed to handle the expected number of riders during the period of Expo 2020.
The gold-rimmed wings of the station’s canopy, which resemble the wings of a plane, are meant to emulate innovation and advancement.
The completion rate of the Expo Station has exceeded 50 per cent, and more than 90 per cent of metal structures of the station have been installed. Work is up-and-running on the installation of the winged metal structure of the station, and more than 30 per cent of electromechanical works have been completed.
External cladding
Al Tayer also inspected the work progress of Al Furjan station, where external cladding works have been completed. The contractor has finished the installation of the metal structure and roof cladding, and the completion rate has almost reached 57 per cent and while the progress on electromechanical works has reached 25 per cent.
The company has started works on architectural finishing works of the station’s lobby.
Al Tayer also inspected work progress of Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station; a transfer station between Dubai Metro Red Line and Route 2020. It has a design typical to the design of the existing metro stations to maintain the identity and appearance of stations on Shaikh Zayed Road.
However, the interior has been designed to handle numbers bigger than the capacity of current stations on the Red Line, while taking into consideration environmental sustainability concerns.
The construction completion rate of the station has exceeded 50 per cent, and the contractor has completed the installation of the metal structure and is working on the roof cladding.
Preparations are under way for the installation of the footbridge linking the station with the parking area.
