Dubai Metro

This is a map of Dubai Metro... the red line is under construction and is due to be completed at 2009, the green line is due at 2010. According to wikipedia, other lines will be added in the future to expand the metro network.

The costs for the full Dubai Metro System are about 14.3 billion AED, including civil works, stations, system fixed equipment, trains, engineering and financing. The operating cost is approximately 570 million AED per year, including staff, maintenance, and power consumption. The revenue is planned to cover the operation coast through fare box revenue, advertisement space, and according to Dubai Municipality website "joint development or other sources". I don't know how long will take to cover the investment cost but I sure do hope they will.

More cute facts about the Metro:
• Trains will be about 75m long, consisting of 5 cars and fully air-conditioned.
• Trains will be driverless, fully automated, running as often as one every minute and a half.
• Trains will run on tracks and the electrical traction system is made environmentally friendly in terms of noise with no gas emissions.
• The total fleet size will be slightly in excess of 100 trains.
• The two lines will total nearly 70 km, with 35 stations along the 50-km long Red Line, and 22 along the 20-km long Green Line.
• The two lines will run underground in the city centre, and on an elevated specially designed viaduct everywhere else.
• In no location will the tracks cross the public highway, ensuring fully safe mode segregation.
• The Metro network will be fully integrated within the overall Public Transit network. Bus routes and stops as well as taxi stations and park will be organised around the rail system, extending its reach in Dubai.

I am really excited for this Metro system... I think its really important for any major city even as small as Manama... it will not only reduce traffic off the streets so car enthusiasts can step on the gas a little bit more... but it could be a step for reducing carbon emissions... I am sure that wind turbines will be of great use if integrated on those trains... after all a train travelling say at 80 km/h on an elevated track will have enough aerodynamic drag to keep those turbines moving... PV panels will surely help as well... I am no engineer but I guess you can have trains running solely on renewable energy if they were on elevated tracks... some are even arguing energy can be obtained by vibrations caused by crowds. Bahrain are doing some studying for a metro system design and I really hope that they consider renewable energy for it