As leader of the ExpoLink consortium, Alstom is supplying 15 driverless trains for the Route 2020 project, which involves building a 15km branch from Nakheel Harour and Tower station on the Red Line to the Expo 2020 exhibition site in Jebel Ali, and 35 sets to supplement the existing fleet of 79 trains, which were built by Kinki Sharyo for the first phase of the network.
While they retain the exterior styling of their predecessors, the Alstom trains feature a number of improvements, including redesigned grab handles, lighting, and passenger information systems. The trains will be equipped with LED dynamic route maps, and the luggage area has been redesigned to make it suitable for standing passengers.
Women and children class is extended to an entire vehicle, with Gold Class occupying part of one of the outer cars. Seating will be transverse in Gold Class and longitudinal through the rest of the train.
The new trains will be assembled at Alstom’s plant in Katowice, Poland.
RTA says construction on Route 2020 is on schedule and the project is now 12%-complete. Piles are being driven to depths of 25-30m and work has started on casting concrete piers for the elevated sections.
The line will run on an elevated alignment for 11.8km, with 3.2km of tunnel. The project includes the construction of seven stations, two of them underground.
The line will have a design capacity of 23,000 passengers per hour per direction and is forecast to carry 125,000 passengers per day in 2020, increasing to 275,000 passengers per day by 2030.
