Mechanical mole completes key stage of Expo 2020 metro tunnel
The new route will carry up to 35,000 passengers per day in the week and 47,000 on weekends
A key stage in extending the Dubai Metro to the Expo 2020 site has been completed, creating a 3.2-kilometre long tunnel.
A tunnelling machine broke through near the Green Community, after boring under Discovery Gardens and reaching the underground station being built at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The device, dubbed Al Wugeisha Expo 2020, started work in October after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, launched the machine.
According to Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the digger “can crush stones and penetrate through sandy layers or any other soil components encountered during the drilling process”.
He said the machine is “environment-friendly and has no negative effects on land layers nearby the drilling area”.
“Moreover, the tunnels it produces have symmetrical dimensions, which facilitates construction works and reduces the expense of tunnel wall installation,” Mr Al Tayer said.
The underground section of the metro will connect to 11.8km of elevated track. Tunnelling will continue up to Dubai Investment Park and all railway works related to the project are scheduled to be completed by July next year. The RTA plans to start test runs for the metro in February 2020.
Five stations above ground, two underground stations, an interchange area and an Expo station will also be built to serve passengers travelling to the site.
The new route is expected to handle 20 per cent of traffic to Dubai Expo 2020, with trains ferrying 35,000 commuters daily in the week and up to 47,000 passengers on weekends.