A Dubai Metro train that broke down earlier on Thursday experienced some ‘technical difficulties’, the Roads and Transport Agency has said.
A train travelling from Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station to Mall of the Emirates just before midday slowed down and briefly stopped on the line before continuing its journey, a spokesman for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirmed to Arabian Business on Thursday.
The problem has now been resolved.
“There were some technical difficulties on a train between two stations,” said an RTA spokesman.
“There was a bit of a slowdown and it stopped for a bit of time, but everything is on track now. It’s the first day and globally there is no project of this magnitude,” the spokesman added.
Separately, massive queues were seen at Al Rashidiya Station ticket offices at 3.45pm as ticket machines only accepted the exact fare.
The $7.6bn transport system was officially opened on Wednesday by Dubai’s ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, but commuters were made to wait until Thursday to use the service, which has opened on schedule but over budget.
Labourers and engineers have been working around the clock to ensure the project was completed on time.
However, only ten stations have opened out of 29. The rest are due to be completed by February next year.
The project has taken four years to complete but it has risen in costs by an estimated 75 percent.
This week the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said that costs will overrun to around $7.6bn.
With nearly 75 km of magnetic track, it is the largest automated driverless train system in the world.
The Red Line, which opened on Thursday is 52.1km, and the Green Line, 17.6km in length, is currently under construction and is due for completion in a year.
On the Red Line there will be 24 elevated stations, four underground, and one at street level.
Up to 11,000 passengers are expected to use the Metro in peak times every hour, with nearly 75,000 predicted to use it daily.
Carriages are divided into three classes: Golden (VIP), Women and Children and Silver (economy). Trains have air conditioning and wi-fi access.
