There is light at the end of the tunnel for Dubai’s newest public transport system after the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the arrival of the first tram coaches to Jebel Ali port in the middle of this week.

Seven coaches, constituting the first batch of 11 trams (25 will be in operation in total), have been shipped from France with a view of being in circulation by November 2014 after a test-run in Dubai.

The tram is expected to carry about 27,000 riders per day at the start of operations in 2014, rising to 66,000 per day by 2020, along a route which extend 14.6 km from Dubai Marina and out along Al Sufouh Road.

In a statement, HE Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads and Transport Authority, said: “At the end of this month, the RTA will run the technical run of the tram in the depot’s rails, and the test run will then be carried out in distance of about 2 kilometers outside the depot.”

He added: “Over the past months, the contractor has conducted the first technical test run of the tram on the 700-meter test track in Alstom Factory in France. The tests included various speeds, safety systems, electric propulsion of tram coaches, braking systems, sudden stop in emergency cases, and ground electric feed of the tram track, in addition to the catenary cables which will be used in the depot, and tram doors operation.”

He added: “Each train measures 44 meters in length and has a capacity to accommodate about 300 riders. The Tram has a First Class (Gold Suite) and one cabin designated for ladies & children as well as a Silver Class cabin. The tram’s carriages & stations will have deluxe interior finishing, and feature state-of-the-art technologies in the transmission and display of entertainment materials, with a passenger lounge of 44 meters, fitted with a glass barrier extending along the platform,  automatic doors closer / opener and automatic fair collection system.”