Quite pleased that Dubai has joined the ranks of the 150 or so metrified cities in the world, I took my first trip today, on Tuesday the 15th of September, nearly a week after the official launch. While there were some teething and adaptation issues in the first week (someone apparently hit the emergency stop button, thinking it was like the stop buttons on the public buses), things appear to have more or less settled by now.
For now, only 10 stations are open, so I had to take a cab from the one closest to my destination. Still, the savings are immense, and the time taken to get there was comparable to that which would be taken by a private vehicle. Getting in and out was smooth and hassle-free with the wave-and-walk Nol card. It was all so ... first world.
Some of the stations are especially impressive and unique, and the frequency and punctuality seem to be well planned. Some stations were dug surprisingly deep into the earth. The cars were also comfortable and sharp-looking. I expect to use a lot of this service, considering how close stations are to my home and other areas of interest.
Impressive entrance!
ReplyDeleteWow, nice lights
ReplyDeleteVery nice shot !
ReplyDeleteWaow very impressive Sohan! So clean and so beautiful subways! The parisian "Métropolitain" is very old (dating from 1900) and dirty...you might know this.
ReplyDeleteDubai is a town I wish to visit one day, it looks so beautiful and so different from my old world! :-)
Great building!
ReplyDeleteExternally, all the stations and station entrances are built around the "oyster shell" theme. Internally, they vary quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteWell, Paris does have its "old world" charm and culture, and not all of Dubai is glittering and swanky. Like any big city in the world, there's the good, the bad and the ugly. The metro is new and fresh now, and I hope they will maintain it as well.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a pity to add some graffitis to these five star corridors !
ReplyDeleteYeah, well, there are plenty of police on patrol in the metro stations ... for now, at least. Anyway, Dubai doesn't have nearly as much a graffiti problem as did the Europe I saw last month.
ReplyDeleteWhoa very very impressive! I especially love the chandelier...
ReplyDeletesuch a beautiful city!!! :))
ReplyDeleteWAHHHHHH...... I SEE IT!!!! The $0.5 Million dollar Chandeliers!!!!
ReplyDeleteWAHHHH!!!! I SEE THEM!!!! THE $0.5 Million dollar chandeliers!!!! each!
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth they cost half a million dollars each?
ReplyDeleteumm... because they do.
ReplyDeleteThey are the work of Lasvit ( http://www.lasvit.com/projects-contemporary-lighting-detail.asp?id=140 ), a Czech company, who have a big billboard on Sheikh Zayed road advertising this fact. Never heard cost estimates before, though. The Al Rigga station chandeliers were also designed by them ( http://sohandsouza.multiply.com/photos/album/7/#photo=5 ).
ReplyDeletehehe actually, the lead architect for the dubai metro did the original designs for the chandeliers and he works for LTA here in SG now. He gave a talk on the dubai metro two weeks ago which I attended. :D Hence, my sudden interest.
ReplyDelete