Monday 29 April 2024 (UAE)
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Abu Dhabi Metro
The Abu Dhabi Metro is a rapid transit public transport system for Abu Dhabi city, with proposed start date of operations expected to be in 2015 or 2016 ... delayed to a few years later to allow for usual UAE project timeline optimism.
Abu Dhabi Metro is in the planning stages during 2008 and 2009, with start date for phase one of operations expected to be in 2015 or 2016 2016-2017. The metro network is part of the Abu Dhabi Master Transport Plan 2030 which includes:
- Abu Dhabi Metro system (90km-130km) (revised to 18 km in 2013?)
- High Speed Railway Lines (580km)
- Light Rail Tram system (LRT) (350km) (revised to two lines of 18 km each in 2013?)
- Project cost $7 billion (Jun 2013 information)?
Revised timeline for Abu Dhabi Metro
- 2012-2017 - opening date of Abu Dhabi Metro and Light Rail lines?
- mid-2014 - construction of metro to start?
- Mar 2014 - winning bid to be announced?
- 12 Jun 2013 - tenders submitted for Abu Dhabi Metro construction? Companies bidding might include Siemens (Germany), Bechtel (USA), Samsung Engineering (South Korea) (all unconfirmed).
History and important dates for Abu Dhabi Metro
- 2016 - possible start date for Abu Dhabi Metro operation: "Metro trains are expected to start running in 2016 and trams will begin operating in 2014" (Abdulla / Abdullah Rashid Al Otaiba, Director of the Department of Transport (DOT) reported in Gulf News 02 March 2009).
- Sep 2015 - possible start date for operation of Abu Dhabi Metro phase I: "The first phase of the metro will be 42.5-km-long and it will be ready to operate by September 2015" (Dr Abdul Qader Al Shahbani, Surface Transport Master Plan Project Manager as reported in the Gulf News 13 May 2009).
- early 2011 - construction of metro starts (based on comment that construction would start shortly after tender was awarded).
- Jan 2011 - tender could be awarded for Abu Dhabi Metro construction (based on adding 18 months to study start date).
- Feb 2010 - end of stage 1 of the study.
- 13 Sep 2009 - press release announced that the Abu Dhabi Executive Council (ADEC) is reviewing Abu Dhabi Transport Department (ADTC) recommendations to select a company for the award of the Abu Dhabi Metro consultancy contract. The shortlisted companies were not named.
- Aug 2009 - start date of Abu Dhabi Metro feasibility study stage 1 (length, capacity, cost of metro line).
- 27 May 2009 - deadline for feasibility study proposals from consultancy firms.
- 14 Sep 2006 - tenders for the Abu Dhabi "monorail" would likely be issued in 2007 (Gulf News report)
- 13 May 2006 - WAM (UAE news agency) announced that a preliminary study for setting up the Abu Dhabi Metro had been completed by the Department of Municipalities and Agriculture of the Abu Dhabi Municipality.
- 10 May 2006 - Abu Dhabi Metro first publicly announced: "The Abu Dhabi Metro project is currently under study and it will soon be unveiled," said Ahmad Rashid Al Rashidi, Director of Abu Dhabi Public Transport Department (PTD) (Gulf News 10 May 2006). It would (might?) link to the Dubai Metro eventually.
Other Abu Dhabi Metro data
- Total length up to 130 km. Dr Al Shahbani was later reported as saying it may be 30km to 40km shorter (Arabian Business 18 May 2009)
- First metro line 42.5km comprising 2.13km at ground level, 4.91km elevated, 16.2km cut and cover tunnel, and 19.26km in bored tunnels according to comments from Dr Al Shabani (Gulf News 13 May 2009).
- Abu Dhabi public transport use in 2009 about 2% of total journeys in the emirate.
- Abu Dhabi public transport use desired in 2030 about 30%
Abu Dhabi Metro routes
- First metro line looks like it will be from Abu Dhabi Capital City development near Khalifa City, to downtown Abu Dhabi (central business district), with trams linking outlying areas to the metro (tube, subway) line.
- Metro also to Abu Dhabi Airport.
- Metro route from downtown Abu Dhabi across Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, looping back to Abu Dhabi Airport and the Abu Dhabi Capital City development.