Wednesday 9 September 2009

Dubai Metro - A Welcoming!

Metro Dubai will be unrolled in a less than an hour! Will be opened by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum. Such a fantastic project for Dubai, the UAE, and the Arab World to be proud of. One of the fastest rates of construction. Just 49 months till now. Of course it's a phased opening but it's very impressive. Mabrook Dubai :) God Bless You!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can understand that its something for Dubai (arguably) to be proud of. And MAYBE the UAE, but what do the other Arab countries have to do with this?

Its that racism that has put the Arab World where it is today buJassem. You should have said its something MUSLIMS could be proud of.

That is what defines us after all, our religion, not our ethnicity.

I'm scared that next you will claim that only specific classes of society should be proud.

The metro, even though I find it pointless, is something for the CITY OF DUBAI to be proud of. Citizens and residents.

I congratulate you BuJassem and everyone else in Dubai. I hope the rest of the money wasting goes as well. ;-)

Muscat360 said...

BuJ, i watched the opening and i had goosebumps. I am really proud of the Dubai Metro and wish it well. 3oqbal Oman and the rest of the Arab AND Muslim world (that one was for A Blessing in Tragedy :)

Dubai Jazz said...

Mabrook Bu Jassem. :)

You've got to give it to the RTA, they've done a good job.

Anonymous said...

Many thanks Muscat360!

DJ... May I ask how you define a "Good job?"

A project that is 11 BILLION AED over budget isnt a "Good Job" to me. It shows poor planning, and a general lack of understanding of what was being done. Once again Dubai proves that 1. It doent really know what it wants or what its doing, and 2. the corrections were probably done with Abu Dhabi's money.

I can only speak from a fiscal point of view as I am not a structural engineer.

BuJ said...

ABIT.. i think at the end we need to forget about Dubai, Arabs, and even Muslims.. coz it's the Indians that built it that we should be proud of.

Poor Japanese.. they must have made a big loss on it.

I am glad ABIT that I can still make you scared hehe.. and I guess I did claim in this comment that specific classes of society should be proud :P

(that was a joke btw before you go killing yourself!)

Muscati.. i saw the show too.. i felt very proud.. it's so easy to get delayed on such a project in such a city full of complex issues and problems.. but they pulled it on time. Did you know for example that the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) had to play zig zag with the piled foundations of some old buildings in deira, Dubai? It was so bad for the old Dnata building that no one had records of how deep the foundations were, so they had to go under it (rather than around it, because of size) and it added a lot of cost/time delays. This is just one example of the complexities. all this happens underground and the average person will not even be aware of it.

DJ.. I gotta agree with you there. btw, i saw in GN yesterday that the DM chief announced that the green roof rule is under study and is not enforced yet, contrary to one of your older posts.

Dubai Jazz said...

Bu Jassem,

Later to that post, I published another one:

http://dubai-jazz.blogspot.com/2009/08/emaratis-react-to-green-roof-regulation.html

In which I said: "Did I tell you I have my own crystal ball? It foretold me of the problems that will emerge with the implementation of this law. Now my crystal ball is telling me the law will get abolished soon, or at least substantially revised."

Muscat360 said...

ABiT i'd like 2 think that u n i r buddies now so i can pick on u shweya.. i'm gng to turn American on u for a bit: at least give it 24hours (from the launch) before u go raining on the Dubai Metro's parade! Seriously, don't playa hate, appreciate! I'm staring to think of you as a grumpy grey cloud just waiting to pour cynicism. What happened to the "blessing" part? where's the silver lining? Having said that pls don't pour anything mean on me in ur next post!! *pleading (and terrified) smile*

BuJ, i'm thinking that if such a project were ever undertaken in 3oman we'd probably have worse problems (in the older areas) and crazy budget over-runs coz our terrain is crazy- mountainous and rock-based all over. Even road construction and oil exploration are significantly more expensive to undertake here than in neighboring coutries. So cost over-runs or not, the next time i'm in Dubai (which is soon hopefully!) i'm going for a ride on the Dubai Metro!

Anonymous said...

Muscat 360, Actually Im a very nice person. "Nice" here is used with a grain of salt. I dont usually get annoyed at people just at opinions.

I agree, I've become way too "tragic" and not too blessing-ish.

So I'll wait till one of the cars derails to say I told you all so. Deal?

Muscat360 said...

Phew! I made it out of that one alive and with my skin intact ;)

"So I'll wait till one of the cars derails to say I told you all so. Deal?" <== *shaking u by the lapels* is that what u call "blessing-ish"?

I think i'll go back to being afraid..

rosh said...

Mabrooks to the UAE. I'm sure there shall be the beginner's glitches, but that's a given. The fact, they've taken those baby steps into te Public transportation universe is indeed quite telling for the future of the city -- and the UAE in general. Proud day indeed.

rosh said...

Oh Mr BuJ you rode the metro? How did it feel? What colour are the seats and the interiors? Seats comfy / large enough? Mafi pictures?

rosh said...

"Muscat 360, Actually Im a very nice person. "Nice" here is used with a grain of salt."

Yes, true - of course, you've got to add, the pepper, the green chilies, Mexican chilies, drops of the deadliest Tabasco sauce, ginger and garlic -- horseradish (the Wasabi kind)and some mustard!

:)

Anonymous said...

Rosh stop it. To you and Muscat I'm an IP address. My opinions are my own and I should make any difference in your lives. in the real world.

btw, Since I studies in AZ, I love mexican food, so all that stuff you added to me would make me HAPPY. lol.

Muscat, yes, thats as blessing-ish as I get.

I dont believe there will be beginner glitches, I'm waiting (Almost praying) for some huge 200 person dead catastrophe. It would be "fun."

BuJ said...

ABIT.. a very direct word of warning. You are as welcome here as any reader, but please do not advocate death and destruction:

"I dont believe there will be beginner glitches, I'm waiting (Almost praying) for some huge 200 person dead catastrophe. It would be "fun.""

Such comments are not acceptable, even sarcastically.

BuJ said...

Thanks DJ for the link.. I missed it somehow.. apologies! Anyway it's great news!

Hala Muscati.. metros are designed to fit a city. It's not a readymade suit that all cities can wear. Dubai's metro is unsuitable in Muscat, however I can think of a design that will be cheap to build.

What you do is adopt a similar solution as Dubai's in the outskirts.. i.e. elevated tracks. From what I remember Muscat is planned very well and the streets are wide, so it's possible to do that in the outskirts.

In the very centre of the city, even in the hills of Ruwi you would probably go for a tram solution. The trams would travel on steel tracks embedded in the asphalt of the roads. Thus you would avoid tunnelling except where absolutely necessary.

If you think of the world's most populous cities with a metro, they all have some kind of river going through them and thus have sedimentary geology which makes tunneling easier than through rock. E.g. London, Boston, New York, Paris, Moscow, even Cairo. etc

Mind you, a sandy soil doesn't always make it an easy job to tunnel. As you'll get problems with leaking.

Anyway, a similar project in Muscat would probably cost much less than Dubai if done right. But do you need it?

BuJ said...

Mr Rosh, I will ride it next week or later inshalla. It's full of pleasure seekers at the moment and I want it to be mine , just mine!

Will post some pics with an engineering flavour once I ride the metro myself :) Much to your and DJ's delight :)