Plus a new route expansion project specifically for Expo 2020

Dubai Metro is getting an overhaul with the Dubai Media Office announcing yesterday that it will be adding 50 more trains to its existing fleet.

A video posted to social media shows UAE transport officials visiting the manufacturing site in France where the trains are currently being built.

The new cabins will maintain the same exterior design to make them familiar to commuters, however, they will incorporate a number of upgrades internally to provide a better overall experience. 

What kind of upgrades are we talking about? Well, for starters the signage around the carriages will now be digital, featuring a dynamic map of the metro route that should make it easier to figure out what the next station is. Gold Class carriages will have transversal seats (think two by two and facing each other), whilst Silver and the Ladies & Children Carriage seats will be longitudinal against the sides of the train.

The carriage handles are also getting a redesign in an effort to make them more comfortable to hold. Yay!

One other interesting tidbit of news to come out of the announcement is that 15 of the new trains will be used exclusively for an upcoming 15km expansion project that will serve Expo 2020.

Dubbed Route 2020, the new line is expected to handle upwards of 46,000 passengers every hour and will feature a total of seven new stations, including a station at the Expo site itself, an interchange station, as well as three elevated and two underground stations.

The route will start from Nakheel Harbour and Tower station and pass through areas including The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Investment Park.

There is no firm date yet on when the new trains and routes will be live, but we expect them to be up and running before Expo 2020 gets underway in October 2020.

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Images: Facebook