Coronavirus: Dubai carried out major metro maintenance work during shutdown

Tunnel cleaning work that was planned in June was completed in April

All essential and planned maintenance work was carried out in April instead of June. Courtesy: RTA

Dubai carried out major maintenance work on its metro network during the recent shutdown, new images showed.

Work on underground tunnels that run under the city was among the planned projects that were brought forward from June.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said the first long-term closure in the network's history provided an opportunity for a full check-up of the lines.

“We have succeeded in turning the lockdown of the metro network, forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, into an intensive maintenance period for the Dubai Metro infrastructure” said Mohammed Al Amiri, head of rail maintenance.

“RTA teams managed to carry out key maintenance activities of some parts of the metro railways in record time, which was 50 per cent shorter than the planned period.”

He added the RTA was able to carry out tunnel cleaning work in April, instead of in June as planned.

About 650,000 people use the Red and Green lines each day, helping to keep the number of vehicles on the roads manageable.

Mr Al Amiri said the RTA was fully committed to "safe and smooth transport for all".

Dubai’s main metro line reopened in late April, with passengers instructed to leave spaces between seats and ensure social distancing.

Lifts at the city’s metro stations were limited to two people to help avoid close interaction between commuters.