ABU DHABI // Alternative modes of transport, such as a metro system, are needed if Abu Dhabi is to avoid severe congestion, a senior transport planner has said. Abdelgader Elshabani, of the Department of Transport, said the city needed to embrace public transport systems to prevent roads reaching full capacity in the next decade.
The DoT is currently considering several ways of meeting the transport needs of the emirate, including rail, metro and tram systems. It has begun to reserve space for the systems ahead of a final "master plan" report due next February. "This is not final, but basically the numbers that we have indicate that we need a metro network in Abu Dhabi," Mr Elshabani said. "It also indicated that in the future it is important to link Abu Dhabi to Dubai.
"We need also to have this connection to Dubai through a regional rail system? and as a matter of fact, we have begun reserving space for that." Without alternatives such as a metro and tram system, peak vehicle flow to Abu Dhabi island is expected to increase to 100,000 vehicles an hour by the year 2030, from 15,000 vehicles an hour today. The road network is expected to be at full capacity before 2020, he added. At present, less than one per cent of trips are made by public transport.
"The Government also believes that we have to move into public transit," Mr Elshabani said. "We also need, with all these? public transit systems, to have policies to encourage use of public transit." Mr Elshabani presented a preliminary map yesterday with possible transit routes for Abu Dhabi, which had been previously published. It shows a metro with stations on Abu Dhabi island, connecting to Musaffah industrial zone, the planned cities of Capital City and Masdar, Abu Dhabi International Airport, as well as various islands under development, including Yas Island, the future home of the Formula One Grand Prix.
A tram line is also present, as is a regional rail connecting Abu Dhabi with Dubai, Al Ain, al Gharbia and on to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. A network of tram lines is scheduled to open in 2015, while the metro is planned for 2020 and the regional rail may be completed between 2020 and 2030. "From the start we began looking at what are the possible rail system routes that we need to reserve right away," Mr Elshabani said. "If we have to wait until the study finishes, we could lose very important routes for the future rail system."
The department has been welcoming feedback from the public at its website www.transportabudhabi.ae. mchung@thenational.ae
