My journey into history

Jen Gerson Today I will leave my home in Abu Dhabi and drive 150km to collect my ticket and take the inaugural trip on the 52km Red Line.

At some time after 8.30 this evening, I will become part of history. According to the Roads and Transport Authority, more than 10,000 people signed up via the internet or their mobile phones to compete for the chance to be the first passengers to ride on the Metro. Yesterday morning, I learnt that I was one of the lucky winners of a coveted Golden Ticket. The news arrived by e-mail - not golden, but a pale shade of blue. It advised me to collect my ticket this afternoon from the RTA's head office in Umm Ramool, near Festival City.

The e-mail also told me that no one else could pick up the ticket for me and that on the train I would be barred from eating, smoking and being under 16. All of these proscriptions seem perfectly manageable. Once I had collected the ticket, continued the e-mail, "please come to the Nakheel Harbour & Tower Station on time along with your Golden Ticket, to avoid missing the ride". So today I will leave my home in Abu Dhabi and drive 150km to collect my ticket and take the inaugural trip on the 52km Red Line. The adventure will be chronicled in this newspaper, as well as online via Twitter, the micro-blogging site that will allow me to send text and picture updates. Follow me on my historic journey at www.twitter.com/TheNationalUAE.