DUBAI // When the clock strikes midnight and the rest of Dubai is asleep, the Metro's maintenance brigade goes into action.
Dozens of engineers and workers check the track, fix faults inside coaches and repair train cables in the workshop. Some trains are guided into a light repair workshop and others are parked inside the Roads and Transport Authority's (RTA) sprawling Rashidiya depot. A few trains on side tracks off the main line are already scrubbed and cleaned for the next day.
Work begins in earnest after the last train rolls out and the shutters of Metro stations shut for the night.
"When one person finishes work, someone else's work starts," said Ali Abdul Qader Saeed, the director of the RTA rail maintenance department. "People don't realise how much attention must be paid to safety issues at night before the first passenger gets on the train in the morning."
Groups of workers with orange safety vests and white helmets walk along stretches of track earmarked by the Operation Control Centre, which runs the Metro by day and sets the night work schedule. Their work starts when rail operations are halted and trains head to Rashidiya or the Jebel Ali depot at either end of the 52-kilometre Red Line.
"Every night a certain section of track is taken up and workers physically walk and check it," said Mr Saeed about the 15-day period during which the entire track is covered. "They check for any obstruction, any abnormality on the track and in the tunnels."
Although riders have often urged authorities to keep the trains running past midnight, Metro officials say the vital behind-the-scenes work must be completed in the small hours of the night.
"When the train is running, nobody can go on the track for maintenance," said Ramadan Mohammed, the director of the RTA's rail operations department. "So when we stop the railway at night we can do the replacement or technical work."
In the Rashidiya depot, the RTA's largest at over 174,000 sq metres, trains pull in for a quick night's rest in an air-conditioned building that can accommodate up to 64 of the vehicles. The glow of red lights on the front coach signals that the train awaits a bit of sprucing up.
"Trains are cleaned once a day," said a supervisor who did not want to be identified. "We have 17 or 18 people who get on board and it takes one hour per train."
In a nearby workshop, blue ceiling lights flash and a clanging bell sounds a cautionary warning to clear the elevated tracks as an attendant guides a train into its slot. Each train is brought in every three days for a thorough two-hour inspection that includes an exhaustive checklist.
"Lights must be replaced here," a worker informs his supervisor as he works his way through a 57-point assessment covering everything from brakes to tail lights. Other workers clamber underneath the trains and use powerful flashlights to inspect the equipment below.
"We check the exterior frame and the interior for problems," said a supervisor who asked not to be named. "Anything we fix is explained to the next team when we hand over the train."
Stations, too, are busy after the system shuts down, with station masters on duty through the night to clear staff ranging from attendants lining up for driving tests to contractors completing internal work.
"Nights are busier than the days," said a station master at Union Station who wished to remain unidentified. "We authorise entry for workers, tally the day's revenue collection and commuter numbers."
Back at the Rashidiya depot, dozens of blue and silver trains are readied for some down time.
"We put the trains to sleep after all the checks are done," Mr Saeed said. "They are in sleep mode because there is nothing more for them to do. They also need rest before they are woken up in the morning."
It's back to the grind at 5am, an hour before the Red Line opens, as so-called "sweeping trains" are sent out to confirm the tracks are safe and the Metro is ready for another day's business.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company%20profile
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Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
