Dubai to launch rail-free trams

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority will develop a new high-tech autonomous electric transport system to be introduced in eight areas of the emirate.

This was commissioned by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, Deputy Prime Minister and UAE Minister of Defence, to mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Dubai Tram.

It is about the launch of rail-less trams, an autonomous and environmentally friendly electric transport system. The self-driving trams will travel on virtual tracks, using sensors to recognise dedicated lanes.

Each tram will carry up to 300 passengers at a time, reach a maximum speed of 70 km/h and travel up to 100 kilometres without recharging. At the same time, its operational speed will range from 25 to 60 kilometres per hour.

The Crown Prince of Dubai also reviewed the plan for the development of road transport infrastructure for 2024-2027 with a budget of 16 billion dirhams – it includes 22 major projects that will help relieve the emirate’s highways.

In particular, it is about modernisation of Umm Suqeim and Al Qudra roads – their capacity will increase from 8,400 to 12,600 cars per hour, and modernisation of Latifa bint Hamdan Street. Dubai will add another 13 kilometres of dedicated bus and taxi lanes, bringing their total length to 20 kilometres.

According to the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, the number of vehicles on the emirate’s roads has now risen to 3.5 million, with a 10% increase in the last 2 years. Until 2030, the annual population growth rate in Dubai is planned to be 3.6 per cent.

Source: The National