Dubai's Route 2020 metro extension to start operating on January 1

Dubai's transport authority on Saturday announced that Route 2020, the extension of the Dubai Metro line from Jebel Ali Station to Expo 2020 venue, will start operations on January 1.

Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general, chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said the initial operational phase will cover four stations - Jebel Ali (interchange station), The Gardens, Discovery Gardens and Al Furjan, with the remaining three stations opening later.

"The opening of Route 2020 for the public follows the successful completion of four operational tests and trials that included the static test of metro carriages and systems, the test of the rolling stock without passengers, the operational trial to check the system reliability and stability and the operational trials carried out by the operator of the metro service to verify the readiness before the start of the commercial service," Al Tayer (pictured below) said in comments published by state news agency WAM.

Journeys will start at 5 am and end at midnight from Saturday to Wednesday while on Thursday, the first journey will start at 5 am and run until 1 am the next morning and will operate on Friday from 10 am until 1 am the next morning.

The journey between Jebel Ali and Al Furjan takes about six minutes and frequency will be 10 minutes at a rate of six trains per hour, with the route serving 4,176 riders per hour per direction.

Al Tayer said 19 buses on four routes will serve Route 2020 stations to ease the mobility of riders from and to each station.

Jebel Ali, an interchange station with the Red Line, spans 8,800 square metres and can serve 17,000 riders per hour during peak times and 320,000 riders per day. It also offers eight retail outlets for commercial investment.

The Gardens station can serve 6,770 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day with five outlets while Discovery Gardens can serve 6,770 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day and offers four outlets.

The fourth station, Al Furjan, can serve 6,770 riders per hour during peak times and 125,000 riders per day and also offers four outlets for commercial investment.

Route 2020 has the capacity for 46,000 riders per hour in both directions.

The RTA anticipates the number of riders using Route 2020 to reach 125,000 riders per day in 2021 and increase to 275,000 riders per day by 2030.

Studies also reveal that Expo Station is expected to serve about 35,000 daily visitors of Expo during weekdays, and the number to increase to 47,000 daily visitors during weekends. This number accounts for 29 percent of the total expected number of daily visitors to Expo.