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Nakheel
is to begin live testing of the Palm Monorail this October. The Palm Monorail, which will transport thousands of visitors on
the Palm Jumeirah each day, is one of the first monorail projects to be constructed in the Middle East.
Nakheel has laid 100% of the 5.45km track, while the
monorail vehicles, which are engineered by railway system manufacturer Hitachi, famous for Japan's high speed Bullet trains, are
undergoing final inspection in Japan before arriving in Dubai for joint inspection with RTA and operators SMRTE.
Nakheel signed a technical agreement in December 2006, which will see the Osaka monorail team provide technical advice and training for staff
during a six-month testing period. Construction work, which began in March 2006, was completed in July 2008. The system will ultimately
connect to the Dubai Metro following the introduction of RTA's Al Sufouh tramline.
Robert Lee, Nakheel Managing Director, Investment Projects,
said, "The Palm Monorail is not only the first system of its kind to be completed in
the Middle East but is also setting global standards for the transportation industry. We have employed state-of-the-art technology to overcome a
number of challenges whether that is running 1,000m of rail over-sea, meeting Dubai's unique climatic conditions, or protecting the communities
of Palm Jumeirah by utilising a virtually silent track system.
"The double track system has been completed on schedule and we will soon receive the monorail vehicles from Japan when we will begin a
meticulous six-month testing period. In preparation for this process, a number of our staff travelled to Osaka to be trained, taking advantage of
the close relationship between the governments of the twinned cities of Dubai and Osaka. With the full corporation of our strategic partner
RTA, we expect to have the monorail operational and capable of carrying more than 40,000 passengers on Palm Jumeirah each day by April 2009."
The RTA is working closely with the Office of British Rail for the Palm Monorail's inspection, and eventually certification, process. Once the Palm
Monorail system is connected with the Dubai Metro, tourists will be able to leave Dubai Airport on the metro and continue through to
the Palm
Jumeirah, where they change over to the monorail system and move onwards to their
hotel.
The Palm Monorail is being developed by a consortium of leading international companies led by the Marubeni Corporation. The system is fully
automatic and driverless, although an attendant will be on board at all times. The monorail will initially
be able to carry up to 2,400 passengers per hour per
direction in four separate trains, each made up of three cars. At full capacity, the figure will rise to a maximum of 6,000 people in nine vehicles.
The 5.45km long transport system will run between the Gateway Station at the trunk of Palm Jumeirah and the Atlantis' Aquaventure Station on
the crescent, calling at two intermediate stations on the way at Trump International Hotel & Tower, and the luxury retail centre Palm Mall.
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