Amid Downturn, Dubai Metro Moves Ahead

"Despite the slowdown, however, construction is progressing on Dubai Metro, an extensive new light rail system intended to ease traffic problems, according to Adnan Al Hammadi, director of rail project construction for the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Partial service is scheduled to begin in September 2009."

"Trains will ply from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. A fare structure has not yet been announced. By the time the $4.2 billion project is completed in 2012, there will be 46 miles of track and a total of 47 stations. Ten of the stations, in central Dubai, will be underground."

"The 32-mile Red Line will stretch from Rashidiya in the northeast to Jebel Ali in the southwest. It will pass through central Dubai, and a large portion of the line will run alongside the city’s main and often-clogged artery, Shaikh Zayed Road. The 14-mile-long Green Line will pass through the business districts of Deira and Bur Dubai. Passengers can transfer between the two lines at Union Square and BurJuman Centre, both in central Dubai."