Rail Agency participates in Rail Infrastructure MENA 2008

The two day conference in Park Hyatt brought together international Rail delegates who presented their expertise, thus providing valuable insights on Middle East Rail Infrastructure.

Ali AbdulQader, Maintenance Director of the Rail Agency highlighted the aspect of safety on the Metro in his presentation.

Ali AbdulQader, said, "The vision of the RTA is 'Safe and smooth transport for all'. The cost of accidents can be calculated on the basis of the medical treatment involved, the loss of time, income, business interruption, damage to property and the environment, loss of skill etc. RTA risk management involves a collaboration of interface management, project risk management and system safety management."

The Rail Agency has appointed an Independent Safety Assessor, who ensures the system requirements are completely defined; the risks are eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level and that the system is operational in revenue service.

The Dubai Metro has various features which will contribute to its safety and reliability.

These include a Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system, bottom contact conductor rail with insulated covers as used on Metros in Singapore, Italy, Taipei and Oslo, a radio system that integrates the Metro with the emergency services and continuously recording front and rear facing cameras on rolling stock for incident investigation.

Other features include Platform Screen Doors, derailment containment by means of concrete plinth up stand throughout Metro main line, continuous fencing and an Intruder Alarm System to prevent people from entering the guide way, track Maintenance vehicles fitted with the CBTC.

Besides these provisions of concrete barriers, enhanced parapets on bridges, a Wayside Obstacle Detection system etc will protect the guide way from intrusion by road vehicles and other objects, walkway is provided along entire alignment for access and emergency evacuation, and last but not the least, the project is in compliance with various benchmark standards.

Mr. AbdulQader added that a safe railway system will encourage rider ship, avoid rework, increase customer satisfaction, raise stakeholder confidence, reduce insurance premiums, optimize shareholder return and optimize and sustainable revenue.