DUBAI 1 April 1 2019: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a contract extending the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro with the British Serco Group until September 2021.
The new contract covers the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro Red Line Extension Project (Route 2020). This extension spans 15 km and connects 7 stations (5 elevated and 2 underground), and the test-run of the service is expected to start in February 2020.
The Dubai Metro lines currently have a network length of 75 km, which will increase to 90 km with the Red Line expansion and will have over 120 trains running at peak times.
The total value of the fixed base fee for the two-year contract is around Dh680 million (£140 million).
Mattar Al Tayer, RTA Director-General and Chairman, signed the contract with Rupert Soames, Serco Group Chief Executive Officer.
“Serco has delivered operational performance levels in the Dubai Metro with a high train service availability of 99.9% and a punctuality of 99.8%, achieving a record of 204 million journeys in 2018. RTA’s introduction of edge-cutting technologies of the rail operation industry also contributed to achieving these indicators,” said Al Tayer.
“Under the contract, the company will provide operational and maintenance services to both lines of the Dubai Metro as well as Route 2020 involving the extension of the Red Line to the site of Expo. The contract also covers all metro assets such as trains, railways and stations. It will also cater to the provision of high-class passenger transit services customised to the daily ridership demands.
“The contract scope also covers operating and maintaining the fare systems of Dubai Metro and collecting the proceeds of selling and recharging Nol cards, besides recruiting and training citizens to achieve a set Emiratisation target,” explained Al Tayer.
