Dubai Metro rides on despite teething trouble

More than 110,000 people, almost 10 percent of Dubai's population, used the Metro during its first two days of operation.

More than 110,000 people, almost 10 percent of Dubai's population, used the Metro during its first two days of operation.

HT Image

On Thursday, the first day the network was open to the public, 67,000 people took the 41km of opened track, while on Friday, 47,000 people had ridden the Metro by midnight, a local news report has said.

Dubai's Roads and Transportation Authority (RTA) previously said it expected 3,500 passengers per hour in each direction. For the first 28 hours of operations, it carried 4,071 passengers per hour on average.

Despite the encouraging turnout, Metro's first two days have been marred by reports of delays, faulty carriage doors and malfunctioning ticket machines.

A lot of trains were also reported to be running behind schedule. "There was no dearth of crowd turning up to take the ride but teething troubles are there to stay for some time," Sam Lotter, a Western expatriate who went for a joyride said.

R Mohan, an Indian resident of the city, took a trip with his entire family and loved the experience. "I hope as many people turn up to commute daily using the Metro," he said.