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Palm Monorail

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Palm Monorail Dubai
The Monorail testing in February 2009
The Monorail testing in February 2009
Overview
LocaleDubai
Transit typestraddle-beam monorail
Number of lines1
Number of stations4 open, 1 under redevelopment, 1 planned
Daily ridership~40,000 (capacity), under contemporary interval 23,000. Current ridership much lower.
Websitewww.palmmonorail.com
Operation
Began operation30 April 2009
Operator(s)Serco
Number of vehicles4 (2009)[1] (only two visually seen in July 2014)
Technical
System length5.45 kilometres (3 mi)[2]
Average speed35 km/h (22 mph)
Top speed70 km/h (43 mph)
System map

Legend
 Atlantis Aquaventure
The Pointe
Nakheel Mall
Al Ittihad Park
Gateway  T1 
Dubai Internet City  M1 
This diagram:
Plan Overview Of Palm Monorail Route

The Palm Monorail is a monorail line on the Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is operated by the UK-based Serco. The monorail connects the Palm Jumeirah to the mainland, with a planned further extension to the Red Line of the Dubai Metro.[2] The line opened on 30 April 2009 as the Palm Jumeirah Monorail.[3] It is the first monorail in the Middle East.[4]

The trains are driverless, with attendants for any emergency situations.[1] It currently runs from Gateway Station to Atlantis Aquaventure and stops at the Al Ittihad Park Station and Nakheel Mall station.

History

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Construction began on the 5.45-kilometre (3.39 mi) monorail line in March 2006,[2] under the supervision of Marubeni Corporation, with the monorail track completed in July 2008 and vehicle testing beginning in November 2008. Originally planned to open by December 2008,[5] the opening was delayed to 30 April 2009.[2][5] In 2010, day-to-day operations were taken over by the British company Serco.[6]

The project budget is US$400 million, with an additional US$190M set aside for a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) future extension to the Dubai Metro,[7] while other sources state a budget of US$1.1 billion.[8] A journey on the monorail costs Dhs20 one-way, 30 return.

The Al Ittihad Park station, originally intended to serve the cancelled Trump International Hotel and Tower development, was opened on 3 July 2017.[9] Nakheel Mall station opened on 28 November 2019.[10]

Technology

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The Palm Monorail uses Hitachi Monorail straddle-type technology. The electro-mechanical works are carried out by ETA-Dubai in joint venture with Hitachi-Japan. Omron Electronics Company will provide the train equipment electronic system which will work by using the smart card technique.[11]

Ridership

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Each carriage has 70 seats and can accommodate 232 standing passengers, for a total of 302 people.[11]

The line has a theoretical capacity of 40,000 passengers per day, with trains running every few minutes during peak hours and every 15 to 20 minutes during off-peak hours.[2][4] However, actual ridership averaged around 600 passengers per day during the first week,[12] and the monorail ran "virtually empty".[13] As of July 2017, the line runs every 11 minutes and averages 3,000 passengers per day.[9]

Stations

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  • Atlantis Aquaventure station — Atlantis, The Palm
  • The Pointe station[14] closed from July 2023 for a redevelopment project.[15]
  • Nakheel Mall station
  • Al Ittihad Park station — formerly Trump Plaza and Village Center Station
  • Palm Gateway station — Gateway Towers, connection to Dubai Tram at Palm Jumeirah station (out-of-station interchange)

Palm Gateway station has more than 1,600 parking spaces available.[16]

Planned extension
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  • Monorail station in Nakheel mall
    Monorail station in Nakheel mall
  • Inside the monorail train
    Inside the monorail train

References

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  1. ^ a b Hitachi Ltd. (4 June 2009). "Monorail in Palm Jumeirah Island opened in April 2009". Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Middle East's first monorail to start services in Palm Jumeirah by April". Gulf News. 7 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Palm monorail tried and tested - The Knowledge News". Time Out Dubai. TimeOutDubai.com. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b "ME's 1st monorail to begin services in April". MENAFN.com. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Palm monorail hit by four-month delay". ArabianBusiness.com. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 10 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  6. ^ DVV Media UK (September 2010). "Urban rail news in brief". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Quiet please for region's first monorail". ArabianBusiness.com. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  8. ^ "Nice and Easy, but Fares Not So Fair". Khaleejtimes.com. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b "New station on the Palm Monorail opens". The National. 3 July 2017.
  10. ^ "In pictures: New mega Nakheel Mall opens in Dubai's Palm Jumeirah". 28 November 2019.
  11. ^ a b Sengupta, Joy (2 April 2015) [22 April 2009]. "Get ready to ride the Palm Monorail". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  12. ^ Sarah Blackman (6 May 2009). "Dubai's new Palm Monorail proves popular". Construction Week Online. ConstructionWeekOnline.com. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Palm monorail: Where are the passengers? - XPRESS (United Arab Emirates)". Encyclopedia.com. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  14. ^ a b "Jumeirah Palm Island Monorail". www.dubaifaqs.com. 24 May 2021.
  15. ^ Holtham, Alice (31 July 2023). "The Palm Monorail station at The Pointe closes today". whatson.ae.
  16. ^ "All aboard: everything you need to know about The Palm Monorail | Time Out Dubai". 30 November 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
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