Palm Jumeirah Monorail

The Palm Jumeirah Monorail is a monorail line on the Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 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 April 30, 2009.[3] It is the first monorail in the Middle East.[4]

Palm Jumeirah Monorail
Dubai Monorail, 2009
Overview
LocaleDubai
Transit typestraddle-beam monorail
Number of lines1
Number of stations4 open, 2 planned
Daily ridership~40,000 (capacity), under contemporary interval 23,000. Current ridership much lower.
Websitewww.palm-monorail.com
Operation
Began operationApril 30, 2009
Operator(s)Serco Group plc
Number of vehicles4 (2009)[1] (only two visually seen in July 2014)
Technical
System length5.45 kilometres (3 mi)[2]
Average speed35 km/h
Top speed70 km/h
System map
Legend
-
Atlantis Aquaventure
Nakheel Mall
 Al Ittihad Park
Gateway
  T1 
Dubai Internet City
  M1 
Plan Overview Of Palm Jumeirah Monorail Route

The trains are driverless, with attendants for any emergency situations.[1]

History

Construction began on the 5.45-kilometre (3 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 April 30, 2009.[2][5] In 2010, day-to-day operations were taken over by the Middle-East branch of Serco.[6]

The project budget is US$400 million, with an additional US$190M set aside for a 2-kilometre (1 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 July 3, 2017.[9] Nakheel Mall station opened on November 28, 2019.[10]

Technology

The Palm Jumeirah Monorail uses Hitachi Monorail straddle-type technology. The electro-mechanical works are carried out by ETA-Dubai in joint venture with Hitachi-Japan.

Ridership

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,[11] and the monorail is running "virtually empty".[12] As of July 2017, the line runs every 11 minutes and averages 3,000 passengers per day.[9]

Stations
  • Atlantis Aquaventure station — Atlantis, The Palm*
  • The Pointe (under construction)
  • Nakheel Mall station — formerly Trump Plaza and Village Center Station
  • Al Ittihad Park station
  • Gateway station — Gateway Towers, connection to Dubai Tram at Palm Jumeriah station

Planned extension:

  • Dubai Internet City (planned) — connection to Dubai Metro

References
  1. Hitachi Ltd. "Monorail in Palm Jumeirah Island opened in April 2009". Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. "Middle East's first monorail to start services in Palm Jumeirah by April". Gulf News. 2008-08-07. Archived from the original on 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  3. "Palm monorail tried and tested - The Knowledge News". TimeOutDubai.com. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  4. "ME's 1st monorail to begin services in April". MENAFN.com. 2008-08-08. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  5. "Palm monorail hit by four-month delay". ArabianBusiness.com. 2008-07-22. Archived from the original on 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  6. DVV Media UK. "Urban rail news in brief September 2010". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. "Quiet please for region's first monorail". ArabianBusiness.com. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  8. "Nice and Easy, but Fares Not So Fair". Khaleejtimes.com. 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  9. https://www.thenational.ae/uae/new-station-on-the-palm-monorail-opens-1.91664
  10. https://gulfbusiness.com/in-pictures-new-mega-nakheel-mall-opens-in-dubais-palm-jumeirah/
  11. Sarah Blackman (2009-05-06). "Dubai's new Palm Monorail proves popular". ConstructionWeekOnline.com. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  12. "Palm monorail: Where are the passengers? - XPRESS (United Arab Emirates)". Encyclopedia.com. 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

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