Tram service rolls out next week

The Dubai Tram system begins passenger service next week, revolutionising transport in the UAE’s most populous city and giving commuters greater options. Wam

DUBAI // It’s all aboard the Dubai Tram next Wednesday, a day after the system’s official inauguration and launch.

Residents can ride in the sleek steel coaches that will draw up at 11 stations, of which two are connected with the Dubai Metro line – station no 3 Jumeirah Lakes Towers and station no 5 Dubai Marina, plus a link with the monorail on Palm Jumeirah.

Ahead of the opening next week, Roads and Transport Authority officials outlined details for passengers using its new mode of public transport.

“Remember to check in and check out of the tram stations,” much like is done on the public buses, officials said.

There will be four ticket validation machines on each tram platform and nol cards, the automated fare system, must be scanned before boarding the tram and after commuters alight.

Unlike the main metro station area, where entry is barred unless nol cards are swiped, there are no gates for entry and exit at tram stations.

When checking in at the platform, the entire fare is deducted at the start of the tram journey, covering all seven zones. Only once passengers check out at the station when they alight from the tram, will they be charged for how much they have travelled.

“When you tap in, it will deduct from your card the fare of all the zones, which is level 3 and the deduction is the highest, so you have to check out for your money to be returned,” said Abdulla Al Madani, chief executive of the corporate technical support services sector of the RTA.

“So it’s Dh7.5 once you first tap in and that’s the maximum, so even on the tram this will be the amount blocked, Dh7.5, and when you check out the Dh4.5 will be returned. So it’s very important people remember to check in and out.”

This charge applies to commuters who top up their silver and gold cards and not passengers registering for fixed weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual nol passes.

Those who forget to check out will automatically incur the entire fare and those who do not remember to check in could be fined Dh210, the same as bus passengers.

Tram users with a silver nol card will pay Dh3 for travel along the 10.5-kilometre line as the route currently loops along a single zone from Al Sufouh, to Palm Jumeirah, on to Media City and Dubai Marina and through to Jumeirah Beach Residence.

The gold card fare is double that of a silver card. Those with a daily red nol card will pay Dh4. There will be no shops or kiosks on the glass-enclosed platforms.

“The station is a glassed-off, air-conditioned area to board the tram,” said Moaza Al Marri, director of RTA marketing and corporate communication.

“It is completely covered, taking into consideration that in the summer it’s so hot.”

Publicised over the last month, the fares starting this month include a standard Dh20 daily pass through to an annual pass, which costs Dh2,670, Dh110 for a weekly and Dh350 for a monthly pass.

The Al Sufouh Tram project is the first of its kind outside Europe to be powered by a ground-based electric supply network.