We are having a trifecta of urban-rail openings over the past few days. First Dubai, then Portland, and soon Dallas.
The first line of the Dubai Metro opened on 09/09/09, 09:09:09 PM local time, but with only 10 of its 29 stations opening. The Red Line is 50 km / 30 mi long, and it runs from Dubai International Airport to downtown Dubai then southwest along a freeway, Sheikh Zayed Road. The remaining stations should be be open on February next year. The next line to open will be the 20-km/12-mi Green Line, on June 2010. It runs in a V shape centered on downtown Dubai. There are plans for inland lines between Dubai Airport and a grandiose airport now under construction, the Al Maktoum International Airport, as well as plans for light-rail feeder lines.
It is entirely automated, and it has station-platform doors. It has three classes of service, Gold (premium), Women and Children, and Silver (regular). Among its sources of revenue will be corporate naming rights for some stations.
Turning to Portland, Oregon, USA, the Green Line has now opened, running from downtown Portland eastward to I-205 and then southward to Clackamas Town Center. In downtown Portland, it runs in new tracks going south from the Portland Amtrak station to Portland State University, crossing the existing tracks at Pioneer Square.
Construction may start later this year of the Portland Streetcar Loop extension, which will cross the Broadway Bridge north of the Amtrak station, going to Lloyd Center, and then southward. In planning is the Portland-Milwaukie line, which will cross the Willamette River on a new bridge southeast of downtown Portland and will go southward to Milwaukie. The Portland Streetcar may cross the Willamette River there also, making a loop.
Dallas has been having previews of stations on the parts of the Green Line to be opened tomorrow. Those parts run from Victory Station, at the American Airlines Arena, to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in southeastern Dallas. By late next year, the rest of the Green Line should open, extending from Carrollton in the northwest to Buckner in the southeast. In the years after that, the Orange Line will gradually open out to DFW Airport. Also opening will be an extension of the northern end of the Blue Line from Garland to Rowlett. These extensions will double the length of trackage of the DART light-rail system.
The first line of the Dubai Metro opened on 09/09/09, 09:09:09 PM local time, but with only 10 of its 29 stations opening. The Red Line is 50 km / 30 mi long, and it runs from Dubai International Airport to downtown Dubai then southwest along a freeway, Sheikh Zayed Road. The remaining stations should be be open on February next year. The next line to open will be the 20-km/12-mi Green Line, on June 2010. It runs in a V shape centered on downtown Dubai. There are plans for inland lines between Dubai Airport and a grandiose airport now under construction, the Al Maktoum International Airport, as well as plans for light-rail feeder lines.
It is entirely automated, and it has station-platform doors. It has three classes of service, Gold (premium), Women and Children, and Silver (regular). Among its sources of revenue will be corporate naming rights for some stations.
Turning to Portland, Oregon, USA, the Green Line has now opened, running from downtown Portland eastward to I-205 and then southward to Clackamas Town Center. In downtown Portland, it runs in new tracks going south from the Portland Amtrak station to Portland State University, crossing the existing tracks at Pioneer Square.
Construction may start later this year of the Portland Streetcar Loop extension, which will cross the Broadway Bridge north of the Amtrak station, going to Lloyd Center, and then southward. In planning is the Portland-Milwaukie line, which will cross the Willamette River on a new bridge southeast of downtown Portland and will go southward to Milwaukie. The Portland Streetcar may cross the Willamette River there also, making a loop.
Dallas has been having previews of stations on the parts of the Green Line to be opened tomorrow. Those parts run from Victory Station, at the American Airlines Arena, to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in southeastern Dallas. By late next year, the rest of the Green Line should open, extending from Carrollton in the northwest to Buckner in the southeast. In the years after that, the Orange Line will gradually open out to DFW Airport. Also opening will be an extension of the northern end of the Blue Line from Garland to Rowlett. These extensions will double the length of trackage of the DART light-rail system.
