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Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will open its biggest underground Metro station on Wednesday, September 1.
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The Jumeirah Golf Estates Metro Station, which was scheduled to open during the Expo 2020, is being opened a month before the mega event kicks off.
The new station, which is part of Route 2020, will connect residential communities such as IMPZ, Dubai Production City, and Dubai Sports City, among others, to the Metro network.
A resident of Dubai Production City, Cristina Cruz, was ecstatic about the announcement. “I work in Al Quoz and my daily commute takes over an hour. It involves a bus ride to Dubai Internet City Metro station, a Metro ride and then another bus ride.
“The new station will cut my journey time in half,” she said.
The new station spans an area of 28,700 square metres. It can serve 11,555 riders per hour during peak times, and about 250,000 per day. It has two boarding platforms, four bus stops, 20 taxi stands and 400 free parking lots, including 20 for people of determination.
The facility has 14 outlets for investors over an area of 466 square metres, in addition to four point of sale display areas for retailers.
Route 2020
The opening of the station comes eight months after the launch of Route 2020. The route’s maiden journey began on January 1, 2021, with four stations: Jebel Ali (a transfer station on the Red Line), The Gardens, The Discovery Gardens, and Al Furjan.
Dubai Investment Park and Expo 2020 stations were opened in June this year. For now, access to the Expo 2020 station is restricted to those who are allowed to go to the Expo site. It will officially open to the public when the mega event opens on October 1.
The stations on the route have benefitted thousands of residents in communities like Al Furjan, DIP and Discovery Gardens. Residents of these areas used to face connectivity and transport challenges before the new stations opened.
Special stations
The exterior design of Route 2020 stations has a unique and stylish architectural pattern. The iconic station at the Expo 2020 site has a winged design that reflects “Dubai’s take-off to the future of innovation”, according to the RTA.
Route 2020 has a capacity of 46,000 riders per hour in both directions (23,000 riders per hour per direction). The RTA's studies anticipate the number of riders using the route to reach 125,000 per day in 2021, and increase to 275,000 per day by 2030.
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