Challenges faced by Dubai’s rail system

Reliance on private vehicles causes traffic snarls around the city.

DUBAI // The challenges faced by the rail sector in the emirate were addressed by the Roads and Transport Authority in papers presented to the World Metro Rail Congress 2017 in London recently.

The reliance on private vehicles that causes traffic snarls around the city was highlighted in the paper titled Dubai Rail Transport Journey and Beyond, presented by Abdul Younes, chief executive of the RTA's Rail Agency.

“The share of public transport in mobility in Dubai was only 6 per cent in 2006, tiny when compared to other metropolitan cities,” he said.

The RTA developed strategies to establish an integrated, diverse and advanced transport network sending the share of public transport to 16 per cent in 2016.

The drive to increase the share of mass transport use by promoting the metro, tram, buses and marine transport continues with plans to touch 20 per cent by 2020 and 30 per cent by 2030.

The automated fare collection system or the Nol card has also helped draw large numbers of people to use mass transit with the RTA encouraging the culture of using public transport among the community.

Mr Younes said the benefits included physical and psychological comfort, low cost, high levels of safety as well as reduced costs of fuel and vehicle maintenance.

The second paper, titled Rail Agency Green Initiatives Towards Low Carbon Society, was presented by Bayan Abu Shaaban, senior sustainability specialist at the Rail Agency.

He listed initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and promote environmental sustainability and awards won by the RTA in this field.

The paper also covered the RTA’s plans to introduce projects to reduce the environmental impact of modes of transport such as the metro and tram.