Dubai’s first tramway line was officially inaugurated on November 11 by the Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in presence of Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Henri Poupart-Lafarge, President of Alstom Transport.

This full system project – that was assigned to Alstom by Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) – was launched to foster multimodal transportation use and to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. This first Tramway in the entire Gulf region is expected to serve about 27,000 passengers per day and is anticipated to hit about 66 000 by 2020.

The Dubai Tramway includes many Alstom’s technological breakthrough. It is the first tram in the world able to run in temperatures of up to 50 °C and to withstand harsh climate conditions such as humidity and sandy atmosphere. Equipped with APS ground-level power supply, the system is also the first in the world to be catenary-free all along the line which is 10.6 km long and counts 11 stations. This technology enables perfect integration of the tramway into the cityscape. Lastly, it is the first line to be equipped with air-conditioned stations and automatic platform screen doors.

The Dubai Tram offers high-end comfort. The Citadis tram is 44 metres long and can accommodate 408 passengers in “gold”, “silver” and “women & children” classes. The tram is equipped with real-time passenger information and video broadcasting. To better reflect the city’s image, Citadis tram of Dubai has a distinctive diamond-shaped styling on the front end.