With rolling stock in place, testing begins on Palm monorail system

DUBAI // The Palm Monorail, the first monorail transport system in the Middle East, began testing its rolling stock on the tracks yesterday in preparation for starting operations next year. The first trains to arrive from Japan were raised on to the overhead tracks to begin six months of extensive testing. Work on the Palm Monorail, which will run the length of the man-made Palm Jumeirah from the Gateway to the Atlantis Hotel on the crescent of the island, is on schedule to meet its April 2009 deadline.

The monorail will have four stations: at the Gateway, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the Palm Mall and the Atlantis Hotel. The Deira Palm under construction off the coast of the old city of Dubai will also have a monorail network. "Two trains were raised on to the 5.45km track on Palm Jumeirah and are now making initial test journeys, closely monitored by the RTA (the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority) and operators SMRTE," said Robert Lee, managing director investment projects of Nakheel, the Palm's developer.

A team of engineers and technical experts from the Osaka monorail in Japan will advise the Palm Monorail staff during the testing period. The new monorail will be the first operational link in an overhead transport network running the length and breadth of Dubai, of which the Dubai Metro will be the biggest element. "The system will ultimately connect to the Dubai Metro following the introduction of RTA's Al Sufouh tramline, with direct links to Dubai Airport and other major transport hubs," said Mr Lee, who manages Nakheel's projects, which are estimated to be worth US$80 billion. When the company's waterfront projects are completed they will add more than 1,000km to Dubai's coastline.

Mr Lee said the monorail would be virtually silent, to protect the communities of the Palm Jumeirah. The Dubai Metro's Red and Green lines, to which it will be linked, are scheduled to open in Sept 2009. There is no confirmed date for the Al Sufouh tram line. The monorail is being developed by a consortium of companies led by the Marubeni Corporation of Japan. It is fully automatic and driverless, although an attendant will be on board at all times. It will initially carry up to 2,400 passengers per hour in each direction in four separate trains, each comprising three cars. At full capacity, this will rise to 6,000 people in nine trains.

shafez@thenational.ae