7 New Stations on Red Line Operational

The seven (7) Dubai Metro stations which openned last Friday, 30th April 2010, include: Emirates, Airport Terminal 1, Al Karama, Emirates Towers, Dubai Internet City, Marina and Ibn Battuta. All stations are found on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro. This resulted in the shortage of Silver Nol Cards â€" the most popular economy class prepaid travel card used on public transport. Blue Cards ar temporarily issued during the shortage. The RTA ran out of Silver cards as the shipment was delayed from Europe due to recent flight disruptions because of the volcanic ash issue.

Commuters would get Blue Nol Cards which will be loaded with same features as Silver Nol cards and it the cost will also be the same. Nol Blue Cards are issued as a personalised card with the picture and personal details but it will now be sold as normal card just like Silver Nol Card for a limited period. No date is given date as to when the Silver Nol Cards will be made available.

Currently, 18 Dubai Metro stations are working. It is expected to rise to 21 stations on May 15, 2010.

The trains will run with frequency of six minutes during peak hours and eight minutes frequency during off-peak time.

Trivia:
The Metro has lifted about 13.68 million passengers and the number of daily commuters is about 80,000 passengers. The number is geared to rise in excess of 140,000 with the opening of the new metro stations. The number of the metro users is estimated to hit 35 million passengers in 2010 and is likely to receive a further boost in August 2011 with the operation of the Green Line, which serves vital areas with intense commercial and public activities. 90 percent of the 2 million cards issued are Silver Nol cards.