The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is planning to build a car park for 6,000 vehicles near the DubaiSharjah border to accommodate Sharjah commuters who will be looking to use Dubai Metro's Green Line.
The car park will be located near the Dubai Police colony in Al Ghusais, where police staff now live with their families. A part of the colony will be moved to another location to make way for the development, said AbdulRedha Abu Al Hasan, Director of Planning and Design at the Rail Agency.
Commuters coming from Sharjah into Dubai will have the option of leaving their cars and getting onto the metro trains. But Al Hasan did not reveal whether parking will be provided free-of-charge to metro passengers.
"The decision over charges depends on how the parking will be used and whether it will be misused," he said.
The facility will serve passengers on the Metro's Green Line, which starts in Al Ghusais and runs through the city's central business district, with a last stop in Jaddaf. The Green Line is expected to start operation in 2010.
Sharjah residents who do not want to drive into Dubai will be provided with the option of taking public buses, which will take them to the metro stations, he said.
Meanwhile, the RTA is constructing the Red Line, which starts in Al Rashydia and ends on the Abu Dhabi border, at Seeh Sh'aib. According to Al Hasan, they may extend the line into Abu Dhabi. The Red Line should be up-and-running in September 2009.
The two Metro lines will cross at Union Square and BurJuman stations. The RTA is also planning to build two lines to serve developments along Emirates Road and provide a fast-track connection between Dubai International Airport and the under-construction Dubai World Central.
By March 2010, there will be 67 trains running in Dubai. The first are due to arrive from Japan in March 2008.
"Each train will have a capacity of 640 passengers, and each square metre will have a capacity of four passengers, two sitting and two standing," said Al Hasan.
By Emriates Today Staff
© Emirates Today 2007
