Palm monorail to start from April 1, 2009

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The monorail on The Palm Jumeirah will start operations on April 1, 2009, NakheelNakheel's director of investments told Emirates Business yesterday.

"Trains will start running by late this year as part of non-passenger activity. Actual passenger service will officially start by April 1, 2009," said Robert Lee, Director of Investments at NakheelNakheel.

"However, due to the Cirque du Soleil's Allegria happening on Palm Jumeirah on March 5 next year, we are trying to bring the date forward with the help of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and everyone else involved with the project," he said. Passengers will have two different payment options to use the monorail, he added.

The RTARTA will start test runs as soon as the trains are delivered, which is expected to be soon, Lee said.

"The trains will be shipped in the next few weeks, earlier than anticipated. The biggest element is the train itself and the final inspection, and the RTARTA will start their tests as soon as the trains are delivered. We anticipate a testing time of anywhere between four and six months," he said. "Right now, we are working to a loose schedule to get all the testing procedures right in terms of safety."

Construction work for the $381 million monorail began in March 2006 and was scheduled for completion by end 2008. "The whole element of monorail is very new to Dubai. In fact, the whole aspect of rail transportation itself is new in Dubai and NakheelNakheel is working closely with the RTARTA to make sure that all the certification elements are being put in place," said Lee.

"The RTARTA has enlisted the assistance of British Rail for certifications, as well as getting the processes right to make sure that we have in place the best practices in the world. We have just completed the factory acceptance testing in Japan. We had our team from NakheelNakheel along with teams from the other project participants, such as Systra, RTARTA and British Rail, collectively inspecting the physical systems of the trains."

Four trains will run initially on The Palm Jumeirah. "We will start initially with four trains and that figure will go up to six by next year. We expect to have nine trains running in the long run," said Lee.

The monorail system is being built in a challenging environment. "It has two water crossings. We have additionally created an emergency walkway, which will run the whole length of the track as well as safety chutes. Our safety features have incorporated the best of international safety standards," said Lee.

Passengers will have different ticketing options, he said. NakheelNakheel has teamed up with Singaporean transport service provider SMRT Engineering (SMRTE) - a wholly owned subsidiary of SMRT Corporation - to implement the project. SMRTA will take over the service's day-to-day running, ticketing, maintenance and the operation of the four stations.

"The train will not be free of charge and fares will be collected one way and round trip. We will have ticketing options available for people who are working on the Palm Jumeirah who will have regular or monthly passes," said Lee. "It is a privately funded monorail system, which is a fairly unique element. It is an investment from our part so we are expecting returns on our investments."

NakheelNakheel had factored in inflationary costs into the budget, he added. "We have worked very closely with our suppliers, Marubeni CorpMarubeni Corp, to minimise the inflationary aspects of the project. Some elements were procured a long time ago. We expect to finish the project in our estimated budget though there is always the likelihood of changes," said Lee. "There are additional soft costs that will be paid back once operations begin."

The monorail will run virtually silently. "It is one of the quietest trains in the world and will make the people of Dubai quite proud," said Lee. "Some of the views from the monorail are quite spectacular, too."

NakheelNakheel plans to extend the monorail by another 2km to join up with the Dubai MetroDubai Metro by September next year.

Transit project
To supplement the road infrastructure to the main complexes on The Palm Jumeirah, NakheelNakheel has commissioned The Palm Jumeirah Transit Project.

The monorail a Hitachi-based system with a 5.45km fully elevated, double tracked system is fully automatic and driverless, although NakheelNakheel says an attendant will be on board at all times.

The monorail will run from the Gateway Towers development on the mainland to the Atlantis resort and water park at the head of the crescent of Palm Jumeirah. Built 10 metres above ground level on five piers, its route will take in four stations: Gateway Towers, Trump Tower, Retail Plaza (formerly Trump Plaza) and Atlantis.

Provision for possible future extensions of the line to allow for an interchange with the nearest Dubai metro station and around the outside of the crescent islands has been incorporated into the design. It will initially carry up to 2,400 passengers per hour per direction in four separate trains, each made up of three cars.

"The figure can go up to 6,000 passengers per hour (pph). What is important is that it can carry up to 40,000 a day and even higher," said Lee. "It meets our projections for anticipated traffic. At peak times, the trains will run every three minutes, and every 15-20 minutes during off peak hours."

A depot, an operations control centre and a 2,500-space car park for visitors and residents is also planned. MarubeniMarubeni is the general contractor, with Hitachi as vehicle and systems contractor, and a joint venture between Obayashi and Oriental is responsible for all civil and building works.

By Sona Nambiar

© Emirates Business 24/7 2008