Source: www.khaleejtimes.com
It won’t be long before the UAE has one of the most advanced mass transit systems in the world.
The decision to expand the rail network is indicative of how swiftly the Metro has now become a part of daily life and totally vindicates the decision to go in for it. There were enough people who doubted that the mindset would allow the executive white-collar class to travel by train. Now, it is these office-goers who make maximum use of the connectivity.
The present consideration of the superbus that would link Dubai and Abu Dhabi into a compressed 30-minute trip also underscores the priority being given to time saving in travel and the need for the 21st century efficiency in reaching a destination. The intermodal concepts deserve to be lauded because now there are superb facilities by road, rail and by sea that complement each other and offer people at all levels fast track movement. There is now another call to create tramways that allow people to get to inner cities and would in tandem with the rail stations. With Abu Dhabi also now expediting its 131 km Metro project, the two major hubs are going to bookend what could be an industrial boom of the near future.
It is not only human traffic that is benefited. Commerce is also given a major fillip and the movement of goods across the country and to other nations by air and road become that much swifter and give the commercial infrastructure a boost.
Experts have already gone on record as stating that economies can only grow if there is a dependable transportation network and one that works in consonance with its several parts. Airports, subways, sea ports and high density industrial zones must be integrated and that is just what set ups like the RTA are doing according to a futuristic blueprint the likes of which are not seen in many parts of the world. The idea at the core is simple: you can groove if you can move.
