First impressions of the Dubai Metro
Posted on 15 September 2009 with no comments from readersToday I finally got around to trying the new Dubai Metro. The video is not mine but gives a nice speeded up view of the ride.
My first impression was the luxury and space. Last week I was on the Paris Metro so can draw a comparison. The carriage in Dubai is a little wider with not quite as much headroom, but you have full air-conditioning and platform doors to stop people falling on the track.
Paris comparison
On the actual speed of the Dubai Metro I think it might be a little slower than its Parisian counterpart. The journey from Nakheel Harbour (opposite the far end of the Dubai Marina) to the airport terminal three took 45 minutes, and that without half the stops (not all the platforms are open yet – beware if you are planning a trip!).
You could make the same trip in a Dubai Transport taxi in 25 minutes door-to-door. On the other hand, in rush hour that might take much longer. Still for commuters going from Jebel Ali to Rashidiya you have to wonder what the standard journey time will be.
Perhaps that does not matter if instead of fuming behind the wheel of a car in packed traffic you can adjust the volume on your iPod, call a friend on your mobile or look at ArabianMoney.Net on your laptop wireless connection. And yes mobiles do work and WiFi.
My other abiding impression is the view. This is lost as you approach the Burjuman shopping mall and the train goes underground.
However, what you presently get is a birds-eye view of stalled construction sites. To be generous there are three sites inactive for every active site, and several very big ones where nothing is happening.
Deja vu
It was the same story, and same view, 10 years ago when the Bangkok mass transit system opened. Perhaps it takes a big construction boom to get a metro built and as they take so long to complete then the boom is usually over by then.
That said any serious metropolitan centre needs a metro. People have to get to work and too many of them and the roads become blocked. Indeed, that is what happened in Dubai.
Now we have a solution and it is a credit to the city already, and confirms Dubai’s status as the commercial and financial capital of the Arabian peninsula.
no Comments posted by readers:
Dear Peter,
Thanks for the great video.
However, that Super Dopper, Ubber Hyper, sound track is too much of a headache inducing pain in the neck.
May I, please, suggest that you kindly consider changing it to COMPENSATE for the high speed visuals, and/or, recommend that PERHAPS the viewer would like to MUTE the sound.
Great efforts overall.