The Palm Monorail is a

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

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 the Dubai Islands, ...

island in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. It is operated by the UK-based

Serco Serco Group plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational military, defence, Healthcare, health, Space industry, space, private prison, justice, Human migration, migration, customer service, customer services, and transport company ...

. 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 system in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The metro system consists of a network of two main lines: the Red Line and the Green Line. A third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled to open in 2029. Du ...

. The line opened on April 30, 2009 as the Palm Jumeirah Monorail. It is the first monorail in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The trains are driverless, with attendants for any emergency situations.It's currently runs from Gateway Station to Atlantis Aquaventure and stopped at the new Al Ittihad Park Station & Nakheel Mall station.

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 Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well ...

, 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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 Dhs20 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 station opened on November 28, 2019.

Technology

The Palm 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: However, actual ridership averaged around 600 passengers per day during the first week, and the monorail ran "virtually empty". , the line runs every 11 minutes and averages 3,000 passengers per day.

Stations

* Atlantis Aquaventure station —

Atlantis, The Palm Atlantis, The Palm 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 elements. Th ...

* The Pointe station closed at July 2023 for a redevelopment project. * Nakheel Mall station * Al Ittihad Park station — formerly ''Trump Plaza'' and ''Village Center Station'' * Palm Gateway station — Gateway Towers, connection to

Dubai Tram The Dubai Tram () 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 stations of the Dubai ...

at Palm Jumeirah station (out-of-station interchange) Palm Gateway station has more than 1,600 parking spaces available. ;Planned extension * Red Line — intended connection to

. Meanwhile

Dubai Internet City Dubai Internet City (DIC) () is a neighborhood and an information technology and business park created by the Government of Dubai as a free economic zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. History Dubai Internet City, a member of Dubai Holding s ...

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

Gallery

File:Monorail Station-Dubai UAE-Andres Larin.jpg, Monorail station in Nakheel mall File:Monorail Train-Dubai UAE-Andres Larin.jpg, Inside the monorail train

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