The Palm Jumeirah Monorail is a

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...

line on the

Palm Jumeirah The Palm Jumeirah is an archipelago of artificial islands on the Persian Gulf in Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is part of a larger series of developments called the Palm Islands, including Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, which, ...

island in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. It is operated by the UK based

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, ...

. The monorail connects the Palm Jumeirah to the mainland, with a planned further extension to the Red Line of the

Dubai Metro The Dubai Metro is a rapid transit rail network in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently operated by the French company Keolis. The Red Line and Green Line are operational, with a major 15 km (9.3 mi) extension to the Red L ...

. The line opened on April 30, 2009. It is the first monorail in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. The trains are driverless, with attendants for any emergency situations.

History

Construction began on the monorail line in March 2006, under the supervision of

Marubeni Corporation (, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a ''sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well as a st ...

, with the monorail track completed in July 2008 and vehicle testing beginning in November 2008. Originally planned to open by December 2008, the opening was delayed to April 30, 2009. In 2010, day-to-day operations were taken over by the British company

. The project budget is US$400 million, with an additional US$190M set aside for a future extension to the Dubai Metro, while other sources state a budget of US$1.1 billion. A journey on the monorail costs

Dhs The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...

20 one-way, 30 return. The Al Ittihad Park station, originally intended to serve the cancelled Trump International Hotel and Tower development, was opened on July 3, 2017.

Nakheel Mall Nakheel Mall ( ar, نخيل مول) is a shopping mall on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction of the mall started in 2014 and it opened in 2019 at a cost of AED1.2 billion. The mall is accessible via the Palm Jumeirah ...

station opened on November 28, 2019.

Technology

The Palm Jumeirah Monorail uses

Hitachi Monorail The Hitachi Monorail System refers to the family of monorails offered by Hitachi Rail. List of notable Hitachi monorails Hitachi's designs are ALWEG-based, and are available in three configurations: All Hitachi trains except those on Japan's ol ...

straddle-type technology. The electro-mechanical works are carried out by ETA-Dubai in joint venture with Hitachi-Japan.

Ridership

The line has a theoretical capacity of 40,000 passengers per day, with trains running every few minutes during peak hours and every 15 to 20 minutes during off-peak hours. However, actual ridership averaged around 600 passengers per day during the first week, and the monorail is running "virtually empty". As of July 2017, the line runs every 11 minutes and averages 3,000 passengers per day.

Stations

* Atlantis Aquaventure station —

Atlantis, The Palm Atlantis The Palm, Dubai is a luxury hotel resort located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis but includes distinct Arabian eleme ...

* * The Pointe station (Now opened) *

station — formerly ''Trump Plaza'' and ''Village Center Station'' * Al Ittihad Park station * Palm Gateway station — Gateway Towers, connection to

Dubai Tram The Dubai Tram ( ar, ترام دبي) is a tramway located in Al Sufouh, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It runs for along Al Sufouh Road from Dubai Marina to the Palm Jumeirah and Al Sufouh. The tram connects with the DMCC and Sobha Realty st ...

at Palm Jumeirah station (out-of-station interchange) ;Planned extension * Red Line — connection to

Dubai Internet City Dubai Internet City (DIC) ( ar, مدينة دبي للإنترنت) is an information technology and business park created by the Government of Dubai as a free economic zone and a strategic base for companies targeting regional emerging markets ...

is the nearest metro station on the Dubai Metro Red Line.

References

External links

* {{Automated trains and fixed-guideway transit Driverless monorails Alweg people movers Railway lines opened in 2009 2009 establishments in the United Arab Emirates Monorails in the United Arab Emirates Transport in Dubai Marubeni