The first batch of Metro trains has arrived, reasonably similar to the original artist’s impressions although a little less streamlined than the drawings.

There will be test runs conducted on a 4 kilometre section of the elevated track near Jebel Ali, checking all the management systems as well as the trains themselves.

There’s a main power station for the Metro, in Jebel Ali, and that’s reported to be completed. The Depot in Jebel Ali which will be large enough to accommodate 44 trains is said to be more than half completed. A train will consist of five carriages with a maximum load of 645 passengers.
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There’s yet another example of the zero-tolerance policy in the UAE to drugs.

The British Radio 1 disc jockey Grooverider (real name Raymond Bingham) had 2.16 grams of cannabis in his pocket when he arrived to do a show in Dubai.

The excuses of ” It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted.” and “he was unaware of the laws” were quite rightly ignored by the court.

The minimum sentence of four years jail was handed down.

I’ve talked about it before on Metblog - there has been extensive media coverage, the internet and blogosphere has plenty of information, the British Foreign Office (and many other countries’) Travel Information warn of the laws.

Yet people still come here carrying drugs.

The onus is on visitors to any country to check the laws before they arrive. Particularly those stupid enough to be drug users.

The story is reported in the Times of London.

Something I drew attention to back in November was Dubai’s tough anti-drug laws.

It’s surfaced again because there’s a web campaign under way for the release of German citizen and UK resident Cat Le-Huy, who was detained under the laws. The campaign says that he is not guilty and was falsely imprisoned, the medication he was carrying was not banned and the ‘marijuana’ he was accused of carrying was in fact specks of dirt. Several bloggers have joined in, while the main site pushing the issue seems to be thetruthaboutdubai.com.

According to these sites, Le-Huy was detained on suspicion that the (legal) Melatonin bottle found in his bag contained other pills. They say that tests conducted by the authorities indicated that the bottle did not contain any other substances and the Melatonin was cleared, that Le-Huy’s urine sample also tested negative for any drug use that the German Embassy expected that Le-Huy would be released at this time, but authorities have called on an option to extend his detainment in order to investigate the specks of dirt that they found.

Because I have no way of telling the truth of Le-Huy’s case I won’t comment on it. Except to say that if he is indeed innocent then he should be released immediately with at the very least a fulsome apology and some sort of compensation.

I must point out though that there are some tabloid-style hysterics on the site though that are misleading for travellers in general, and that’s dangerous.

They also make ridiculous demands of the tourism authority.

I’ll go into both later.
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There’s an announcement today of yet another in the catalogue of Dubai’s biggest-tallest-longest developments.

The world’s longest arch bridge will be built across the Creek, with work due to start in March and completion expected in 2012.

It will be quite a landmark:

This will be the sixth bridge across the Creek, which runs through the centre of the old original city of Dubai, and is located towards the original end of the Creek (it’s being extended) near Festival City.

It will have 12 traffic lanes able to carry 20,000 vehicles an hour in each direction, will also carry a line of Dubai’s new Metro rail system, the Green Line, and will have a Metro station. It will also have an abra station, thus linking it with the Creek’s water transport.
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Dubai World’s Limitless real estate developer arm has announced that work has started on the Arabian Canal, Dubai’s latest mega-development.

It will be a 75km long waterway flowing into the desert from Dubai Waterfront, which includes the massive Palm Jebel Ali island, and back out to the Gulf near Palm Jumeirah, the first and smallest of the palm-shaped islands. They say the canal, costing US$11 billion, will be the largest and most complex civil engineering project ever undertaken in the Middle East.

Gulf News graphic
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The Dubai Municipality has announced a period of 1 year for all Sheesha Joints to take steps to abide by the new regulations relating to smoking.

As per the regulations, a sheesha joint needs to provide an area of at least 50 square feet for cleaning and preparation of sheesha, a stainless steel table for preparation and a separate wash basin (sink) for washing sheeshas only.
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The expansion of Garhoud Bridge, which started in February 2006 with a completion date of March 2008, will have 14 lanes when completed, with a total capacity of 16000 cars per hour, compared to the existing 8000 cars per hour.

4 out of 14 lanes were opened to traffic the day before yesterday for traffic from Bur Dubai to Deira. Commuters travelling the other way still use the old Al Garhoud bridge.

However, the motorists will have to pass through the Salik Toll gates to use the new bridge.

Traffic diverted through the newly opened four lanes of the New Al Garhoud Bridge will break up at the end of the bridge into three lanes bound for Al Qusais and Sharjah, and the remaining lane will lead to four lanes, two of which will lead to Al Rebat Road outbound to Al Rashidiya and Nad Al Hammar, and the other two lanes to Casablanca Road outbound to Dubai International Airport.

The Rail Agency of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that the first two Metro trains have been transported out of the factory to undergo driverless operation and climatic testing in various locations in Japan.

The first train underwent dynamic tests at a speed of up to 60km per hour as well as signalling tests for the purpose of driverless operation.

The tests conducted were functional dynamic test, automatic speed control, emergency braking and other safety-related tests. These were carried out at Mihara Test Track which is located near Hiroshima.

The second train was at Nippon Sharyo facilities, located in Nagoya, and went through climatic testing, which would determine the suitability of the train’s air-conditioning system to Dubai’s climatic conditions.

Following the completion of these tests, the two trains will go through final pre-shipment inspection.

Source: khaleej times

This is a good time to be in Dubai and for me not just because the weather is so pleasant now. Daytime around 30C, night around 20C and low humidity.

For me it’s a visual thing too.

My favourite colours are the orange/yellow/gold palette and at this time of year Dubai is full of those colours. The street landscaping, especially in areas of ‘New Dubai’, is full of marigolds and zineas. The landscaping method is to have large beds of the same colour flower so that there is, for example, a mass of gold, a mass of yellow, a mass of red.

It really is very effective, and very pleasant on the eye as you move around.

Some examples:

A follow-on to my posting last week about the severity of Dubai’s drug laws, which visitors often seem not to take seriously.

A Canadian brought in a tiny amount of marijuana, 0.66 grams for personal use.

He fired his layer, pleaded guilty and asked the court for a ‘fast verdict’, saying he would pay a fine and leave.

He has been sentenced to four years in jail followed by deportation.