Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the launch of its Route 2020 project, which covers the extension of the Metro Red Line 15 km from Nakheel Harbour & Tower Station to the Expo 2020 site.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Dubai Crown Prince and chairman of the Executive Council, laid the foundation stone of the ambitious project at a special ceremony thus marking the start of construction works in the project.

The event was held at a site near the Nakheel Harbour & Tower Station in the presence of Mattar Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA, and the members of the Higher National Committee of Expo 2020.
 
The project will see the construction of a 11.8-km viaduct, and 3.2-km underground track. It encompasses seven stations including a transfer station with the Red Line, Expo Station, three elevated stations, and two underground stations, said a statement from RTA.

It serves densely populated areas housing more than 270,000 people such as The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estates and the Dubai Investment Park.

The transit time from Dubai Marina Station to Expo Station is expected to be 16 minutes only, it stated.

During the ceremony, a movie entitled a “Journey Through Time” was screened in a multi-screen hall using 360-Degree Virtual Reality Technology.

The film, which included quotes of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, showed the upswing witnessed by the emirate and the massive improvements made in roads and transport networks over 80 years.

The film also spotlighted the future projects of the RTA including the massive extension of roads network which is expected to rise from 13,338 lane-km in the first quarter to 14,491 lane-km by 2020, and the total length of rail network (metro and tram) is poised to soar from 85 km to 104 km.

The number of marine transport stations will rise from 32 to 76 stations, and public buses will increase in number from 1,518 to 1,852 buses. Equally, journeys made through public transport means will grow from 15.3 per cent during the first quarter of this year to 20 per cent by 2020, said the RTA statement.

The film also highlighted the future of transport, enhanced smart mobility systems and the application of artificial intelligence in serving humans in various transit means.

At the end of the ceremony, Sheikh Hamdan uveiled the model of Route 2020 Metro Station.

The trial operation of the service is expected to start in the final quarter of 2019, while the official operation will begin in the second quarter of 2020, five months ahead of the scheduled opening of Expo 2020, said the statement.

Last June, the RTA had awarded the contract worth Dh10.6 billion ($2.88 billion) for Expo 2020, including the procurement of 50 trains, to Expolink, a consortium of French, Spanish and Turkish companies, it added.-TradeArabia News Service