Dubai, September 12: Dubai’s new weekend getaway, the Metro, turned out to be a frustrating destination on Friday for thousands of people wanting a ride.
Khaleej Times learnt that commuters were stuck in some trains for over two-and-a-half hours. However, by 8.30pm, trains were running normally again.
RTA spokesman Peyman Younes Parham said the delays were caused when some passengers pushed emergency buttons, resulting in trains automatically stopping at the nearest station.
It was not immediately clear why the emergency buttons had been pushed.
He said 30,000 people had turned up in the two hours after services began on Friday at 2pm. On Thursday, 67,000 people had ridden the system.
Earlier in the day, Metro officials had to close the platform doors at Al Rashidiya station from between 20 minutes to an hour to give a leeway to embarking and disembarking passengers.
The worst-affected station was Mall of the Emirates where up to 2,000 people had turned up at one time and tried to board the train heading to Rashidiya station.
Security officials used loudspeakers to maintain queues and allowed only 200 people on to the platform after every five to 10 minutes.
Colonel Abdulla Al Ghaithi, Deputy Director of Emergency Department of Dubai Police and Communications Supervisor of the Operations, said the stations had to be evacuated to prevent injury.
“There was an extraordinary turnout at all stations, especially at the Mall of the Emirates station and we were afraid that people would hurt themselves,” he said.
He said 2,000 people tried to board the train while the capacity was only 200 people. “Our team has been monitoring all stations since the launch of the Metro on the 9th,” he said.
Reports suggest that intermittent train delays throughout the day had caused tailbacks at other stations, forcing people to wait for hours at a time.
The Metro security force was called in to evacuate all 10 operating stations as a precaution against any problems with overcrowding or frayed tempers.
People were also seen squatting on the floors at the Mall of the Emirates stations since there were no seating arrangements for waiting passengers.
By midday, ticket-vending machines were also out of order and people were seen queuing inside buses to either buy cards or tickets.
Several people said that they had come for a ride in the morning but left after learning that the Metro operates only after 2pm on Fridays.
But despite the delays and the endless queues of people waiting to hop on the train, the mood was upbeat during the day.
“During weekends we always make plans to visit one mall or the other,” said Jalil Malik and his family of four.
“But this weekend we thought we should try out the Metro. My kids have never sat in a train before,” said Jalil.
He said he would not be commuting in the Metro daily. “I live in Sharjah and work in Dubai. It is not feasible for me to drive and park at a Metro station and then take a train and walk to work and repeat the same in the evening,” he said.
Mohammed El Batlouni, a student who was the Mall of the Emirates station with his friends, was unperturbed by interruption to services. “It’s OK. I expected this to happen. We should probably choose another day to try the ride,” he said.
On Thursday, the first day of the Metro’s public run, there were reports from passengers that trains had broken down for two hours between Al Nakheel Harbour Station and Mall of the Emirates Station.
Trains had also stopped on the tracks for more than an hour on Thursday night, they said.
–Agencies