Mass Rapid
Project Manager
dubai red and green metro lines
Transit
bridges and viaducts
underground structures
systems, stations
project management
works supervision
testing and commissioning
Dubais first two metro lines represent the start of a modern,
sustainable transport network which will support growth in
financial services, property development and tourism. SYSTRA
was responsible for the preliminary designs and then was
appointed project manager for the construction phase in JV
with Parsons.
The challenge
With a population expected to grow from 1 million to 4 million
over the next 15 years and traffic congestion increasing in high
demand corridors, Dubais Road and Transport Authority (RTA)
realised there was a need for additional transportation network
capacity. A first study initiated by Dubai Municipality (DM), which
was responsible for transport before RTA was created, and car-
ried out by a US consultancy, identified the need for a rail transit
system in Dubai. In 2003, DM entrusted SYSTRA with a major
engineering contract for the design of the metro project.
The Dubai Metro network is a fully automated and driverless
system running on two lines, the Red Line and the Green Line,
the majority of which are elevated. Both lines have underground
sections where they run through Dubais Central Business District
(CBD) and both lines cross the Creek to link the south and north
banks.
There are two transfer stations between the Red Line and the
Green Line at Union Square and Khalid Bin Al Waleed. Several
multi-modal stations and park-and-ride facilities will ensure full
integration of the Metro network within the transportation net-
work of Dubai, including a common Metro, bus and Abra (Creek
shuttles) fare policy.
With an initial fleet of 51 trains, the Red and Green Lines together
will ultimately have a fleet of around 166 five-car trains, each
seating around 690 passengers, with a VIP section and a private
section for women and children. The fully air-conditioned trains
will be around 85 m long and approximately 2.78 m wide.
The fully operational system will carry about 1.85 million passen-
gers each working day, of which 215,000 passengers will transfer
between the Red and Green lines, with an annual total of about
650 million passengers in the year 2020.
www.systra.com
dubai
The operation of the Metro system will be centrally controlled
from the Operation Control Centre, with the system allowing two
minutes headway (90 seconds headway at maximum capacity).
Driverless operation will allow maximum operational flexibility
and disruption recovery.
The Red Line
The Red Line runs elevated from Rashidiya to GGICO through Du-
bai International Airport terminals. After serving Deira City Centre
shopping mall and adjoining development areas in Port Saeed,
the Red Line runs along Al Rigga Street to reach the transfer sta-
tion at Union Square. From GGICO to Union Square, the Red Line
runs underground. It continues from Union Square underground,
crosses the Creek close to the Dubai Municipality building, serv-
ing the second underground transfer station at GGICO Station
before rising up to run elevated to Al Karama station. Then the
line runs elevated along the east of Sheikh Zayed Road, south of
the World Trade Center Interchange and as far as Jebel Ali Station.
The Red Line includes an elevated section of around 47.4 km with
24 elevated stations, one station at grade and an underground
section of around 4.7 km with four stations, including the two
transfer stations connecting to the Green Line.
The main depot, housing and the workshop and rolling stock
stabling for the Red Line is located at the northern end of the Red
Line, after Rashidiya terminal station. There is an auxiliary depot
at the back of the Jebel Ali Industrial station.
The Green Line
The Green Line starts elevated from Jaddaf zone near Dubai Health
Care City, runs in the middle of Oud Metha Road and joins the Red
Line at the transfer station at Khalid Bin Al Waleed. The line runs
then underground, crosses the creek close to Al Ras and serves
 dubai red and green metro lines
dubai

the Deira Central Business District (CBD) before intersecting the

Red Line again, at the transfer station at Union Square. The Green
Line curves along Salahuddin Road, runs elevated along Al Ittihad
Road, turns east along Al Nahda Road, and terminates at the inter-
section with Damascus Road, close to Al Qusais where the Green
Line Depot and park-and-ride facilities are located.

The Green Line includes an elevated section of around 15 km

with 12 stations and an underground section of around 8km with
eight stations (including Union Square and Khalid Bin Al Waleed).

stations
Most of the stations are elevated with one at grade (Jebel Ali
Industrial station). Underground stations are mainly located in
the CBD area, including the two transfer stations (Union Square
and Khalid Bin Al Waleed). All station platforms are 85m long,
equipped with platform screen doors and are fully air-condi-
tioned. All stations are accessible for disabled passengers from
street to platform level. For the elevated stations, two types exist:
concourse level at grade and elevated concourse level.

All the stations are coherently designed to contribute to the

image of Dubai, representing the activities peacefully coexisting
there: finance, tourism, trade and also culture.

For the design of the stations, great care has been taken to give
users a pleasant environment, with easy and efficient traffic flow
within the station, and to give an impression of a forward-looking
city. Throughout the network, the design of the stations aims to
create landmarks, with timeless designs, high-tech but also with
user-friendly buildings.
ventilation and smoke extraction in stations
and tunnel sections -
air conditioning of stations
The (single tube) tunnel ventilation system, is composed of
units between stations, equipped with two reversible ventilators
(throughput between 80 and 120 m3/s) and blowers fitted to
each station tympanum. Stations have a separate smoke extrac-
tion system for each level. The stations are air-conditioned with
a cooling power of approximately 4,500 kW, of which part is used
to cool the air blown into the tunnel during normal operation.
project implementation
The project was executed in two phases:
Phase 1: construction of the Red Line from mid-2005 to 2009.
Construction time: 49 months.
Phase 2: construction of the Green Line from mid-2006 to 2011.
Construction time: 61 months.
The Dubai Metro project implementation includes the following
works:
development of the final design including civil works, electro-
mechanical equipment and rail system,
geotechnical investigation and topographical surveys,
tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) construction and tunneling works,
line facilities including viaduct, tunnel, cut and cover and all
appropriate structures,
station facilities including the underground, elevated and at-
grade stations,
electromechanical equipment including air conditioning, ventil
lation, elevators, escalators, dewatering, etc.,
ancillary structures along the line including ventilation struc-
tures, dewatering structures, fire brigade access,
fit-out work including, masonry work, damp-proofing and water-
proofing, flooring, plastering, suspended ceilings, wall facing,
marble and granite work, painting, metal work, glass and glazing,
concrete work for fit-out, plumbing and sanitary work, electric
work, miscellaneous such as waste bag holders, rotating barriers,
seats, toilet partitions, signage panels, etc.
temporary works and measures necessary for the construction
of the project,
development and implementation of a traffic management plan
including constructing and maintaining temporary special
routes, roads and access as required, to separate the works
from the road network; supplying, maintaining and relocating
signs, barriers and other safety devices to control traffic around
and through the site and to protect from damage and injury,
possible public utilities relocation and protection,
construction of the depot facilities,
construction of the administrative and operating building includ-
ing civil works only,
implementation of the rail system including:

www.systra.com
 dubai red and green metro lines
dubai

rolling stock manufacture, SYSTRA was backed by the following sub-contractors: MVA, AREP,
system/Train control system, Ar-thme, ACE Cairo and Salustro Reydel.
operation Control Centre (OCC),
fare Collection system, The Dubai Rail Link Consortium (DURL) led by Japanese firm Mit-
traction power and energy, subishi Corp, and whose other members include Japans Obayashi
platform screen doors, and Kajima Groups, and Turkeys Yapi Merkezi, won the contract
track works including main tracks and depot access tracks, for the construction of the Metro Project in May 2005.
maintenance facilities including the depot equipment.
system integration tests including the trial tests and commis- In July 2005, SYSTRA, in joint-venture with Parsons, was award-
sioning ed a major contract for:
system maintenance during the initial years, the verification of the systems and civil engineering studies,
possible assistance for operation during the initial years. project management,
works supervision,
testing,
SYSTRAs Role commissioning and follow-up of the guarantee,
In March 2003, Dubai Municipality entrusted SYSTRA with the assistance to the owner for the selection of the future operator
Preliminary Engineering design including the drawing up of the and operation preparation.
tender documents on a Design and Build basis.
A permanent team of more than 400 people from SYSTRA worked
An initial phase of three months aimed to develop: on site, backed by experts from the Paris headquarters and by the
civil engineering concept, including more than 50 km of via- Egyptian partner for Civil Engineering ACE.
duct using a U-shaped viaduct
redefinition and optimization of the alignment
location of stations and depots
definition of the system,
at a glance
initial estimation of cost characteristics of the line construction
Length: 75 km Dubai Rail Link Consortium, DURL:
A second phase of 17 months involved the development of: (of which 12.7 km underground) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi
30% design of civil works including the viaduct, the tunnel, Stations: 49 Corporation, Kajima Corporation
the elevated and underground stations, (of which 10 underground) and Yap Merkezi)
30% design of the system, Ridership project manager
ridership forecast, 119,000 during PM peak hour SYSTRA Parsons JV
alignment, 1.85 million per day construction cost
location of stations and depots, 651 million per year AED 28 billion / US$ 7.6 billion
performance specifications, Ridership forecast for year 2020
milestones
definition of costs and financing, May 2004: pre-qualification process
Busiest Metro Section: 23,165
launched
tendering and contracting. passengers per hour per direction
at PM peak hour August to December 2004: call for
tenders
Public transit mode share July 2005: design and build contract
Metro + Bus: 16.4% signed
9 September 2009: Red Line
March 2013

Project sponsors opened

www.systra.com Roads and Transport Authority 9 September 2011: Green Line
Duba Municipality opened