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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It was only the other when crossing Sheikh Zayed road and looking at all the hi-rise buildings I was wondering what if Earthquake (God forbid) hits Dubai?? And today I read this in the Khaleej times.

At four different places in UAE the tremors were felt and although the magnitude was not much but what if…

I have seen the devastation caused by the Oct 8th earthquake, 2005 in Pakistan and it just scares me thinking about the consequences if it happens here…I wonder if this part of the world where development projects are on a boom, is prepared for natural disasters.

Master developer Nakheel today announced that reclamation work for ‘The World’ has been completed. The dredging began in 2004. The islands will shortly be handed over to the individual developers who will then begin construction of their projects.

Here’s how it looked from space back in April 2007:

Four kilometres off the coast of Dubai it’s a huge development, 9km x 6 km, and consists of 300 individual islands behind a breakwater that is 27 km long. Nakheel say that it adds 232 kilometres of new coastline - prime beachfron real estate.

The master developer Nakheel, developers of the palm islands & The World, have announced another huge development on Dubai’s coastline.

The most eye-catching element will be an astonishing five star hotel shaped like a wheel.

The development, called Dubai Promenade, is located between Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah and it will ne a combination of residential, retail and commercial space with a 60-berth marina.
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Just outside Wild Wadi is what has to be the tallest palm tree in Dubai. It’s many times taller than the thousands of date palms used in roadside landscaping.

It is, of course, a fake. It’s actually a mobile phone tower.

But it sure looks better than just a usual industrial-looking tower, especially in this location outside Wild Wadi, Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah.

Dubai’s famous gold souk has gone through a major change in recent years. Not just in the fact that it’s been renovated and upgraded, but in the type of jewellery on display.

There are about 130 shops side-by-side, displaying gold and precious stones worth tens of millions of dollars.

But it’s changed dramatically from when I remember it in the seventies, before Dubai embraced tourism.

Then the shops all sold jewellery for the local market, and it was predominently gold in traditional Arabic and Indian designs.

Now with the influx of millions of tourists a year more than half the shops are selling what I think of as ‘European’ jewellery. The same as you see in European, or American, or Australian cities. So the gold souk, for me, has lost its magic.

But…
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Dubai’s new Metro train system is well on target according to the RTA’s Rail Agency and that seems to be true with what’s visible.

The overland stretch along Sheikh Zayed Road out to the Abu Dhabi border is really starting to take shape now, with several huge machines putting the concrete base for the tracks in place.

The Metro going over a road bridge at Mall of the Emirates.

More than 40% of the Red Line is complete and the trains, which are being manufactured in Japan, are due for delivery starting in March. The Red Line is still on schedule to begin operating on September 9 2009.

The frustrated drivers in Dubai can’t wait! We’re hoping it will relieve some of the terrible traffic jams.

The image of Dubai around the world is of ultra-modern skyscrapers, opulent interior decoration, luxury, five-star everywhere.

Well of course there’s that, but there’s plenty that’s not.

Remember that Dubai was a very small city and most of the new developments are in what was not much more than desert. There wasn’t an awful lot of ‘old’ Dubai, but the atmospheric older areas are still here.

One I like is Satwa, an older residential and shopping area in between the ultra-new Sheikh Zayed Road and the beaches.

Older villas are now, in Dubai terms, low-cost accommodation for expatriate workers and there are many apartment blocks, only a few stories high.

There are two main shopping streets, both sides of both roads lined with a huge variety of little shops selling just about anything you need.

There are plenty of cheap restaurants, cafes and coffee shops too and none of them displays the opulence that’s now thought of for Dubai. But I love them.

Here’s one I passed this morning for example:

I’m off to the airport shortly for a three week holiday. I doubt I’ll have time for any blogging but I should be back on here by the end of September. See you then.

Dubai’s new rail system, known as the Metro, is 60% completed according to a recent announcement from the RTA.

Although unseen, apart from the traffic chaos around the major station sites, the tunneling beneath the city is well advanced. The section going under the Creek is reported to have been completed.

The visible section above ground along the main freeway, Shaikh Zayed Road, running from the city to Jebel Ali is moving at a very fast pace, visibly changing almost daily and small signs indicating where stations will be and their names are in place in many locations. So we’re able to get some visible idea of what it’s going to be like.

Two things that have become apparent intrigue me. They are that the overground section has some quite tight bends and it also has hills and valleys, almost a gentle rollercoaster.
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