(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The longer route from Al Sufouh to the Marina area will have a tram every 12 minutes as compared to the earlier 10.
Dubai Tram has established a separate smaller route for passengers who want to travel from Dubai Marina station into the JBR area. The new route or the smaller loop on the tramline will begin operation today according to Mohammed Al Mudharreb Director of Rail Operations Road Transport Authority (RTA). The new route will cover Station 5 (Dubai Marina) to Station 1 (JBR1) covering stations 2 (JBR2) 3 (JLT) and 4 (Dubai Marina Mall).
However separate trams will continue to ply on the older route covering all 11 stations on the tramline (Al Sufouh to Dubai Marina). After a week of successfully testing the new route RTA officials also announced that there will be a time-gap of 12 minutes between trams on each station on the bigger route; and a smaller time gap of six minutes on the smaller route.
Speaking to Khaleej Times Mudharreb said: “The timings will be the same throughout the day irrespective of peak hours or non-peak hours. The longer route from Al Sufouh to the Marina area will have a tram every 12 minutes as compared to the earlier 10 during peak hours; and there will be a tram every six minutes on the smaller route which will start from Dubai Marina go into the JBR JLT region and come back into Dubai Marina.” He specified that on a given time seven trams will travel through both routes. The gap between trams will not change as per peak or off-peak timings.
Passengers can also disembark from the train plying on the bigger route and get into the train travelling on the smaller route on Station 5 (Dubai Marina). Mudharreb said: “People are not required to check-in or check-out of the tram. There will be no additional charges for change in routes and no change in operational timings of the tramline as well.”
Till last week passengers who wished to take a tram from Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) to Jumeirah Beach Residences had to return to Dubai Marina and disembark at Station 5 to change destinations. “There was no direct route that would allow commuters to cuts from JLT into JBR 1 2. Now with the smaller loop we are hoping the commute in this area will be more convenient for people” clarified Mudharreb. He added: “After launching the tram on November 11 we took a month to study the behavior of people and based on the ridership statistics we’ve collected we decided to start this new line. It makes it more convenient for commuters who found commuting around the smaller loop confusing and time-consuming. Signages are being put up in all stations and trams and people have to take care while they are getting in and out of station 5 (Dubai Marina).”
He clarified that people have to be careful while travelling through the smaller routes. “With the metro it’s two lines — red and green both travelling in a straight line making it easier for people to commute. However with the tram people have to exercise additional caution to avoid duplication or wastage in time taken to travel.”
Speaking about the slow speed at which the tram moves Mudharreb said RTA keeps revising the restrictions placed on speed limits. However safety is the primary concern for the authority. “The geographical complexity of the areas that the tram operates in makes it very hard for us to increase speed limits of the tram. However we are constantly revising the restrictions we have in place and we will revise its speed once we’re assured of the safety measurements” he added.
Mudharreb also confirmed that RTA will announce extension plans of the tramline into Mall of the Emirates extending the total length of the tramline to 14.6 kms in the earlier half of 2015.
The cost of using the tram is Dh3 and gold class tickets are priced at Dh6. Passengers using the tram must tap-in and tap-out their Nol cards at designated validation booths in the tram station. The operational timings of the tram is from 6.30am till 1.30am the following day and on Fridays it will ply from 9am till 1.30am the next day.
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