City of Arabia, Dubailand, U.A.E.

Metrail AG of Switzerland has been awarded the monorail contract for the City of Arabia, UAE. The City of Arabia is a 20 million square foot retail, residential, commercial and entertainment development near Dubai. Signature elements are the Mall of Arabia, one of the world’s largest malls; Restless Planet - a US $300 million theme park, an earth science museum and planetarium; Wadi Walk, a water front community with stylish apartments, outdoors cafes and retail outlets; Elite Towers, a group of 34 commercial and residential buildings. The Metrail monorail will transport residents and visitors around the development on a six-kilometer dual guideway system with eleven stations. Six flat-floor, walk-through 2-car trains will be supplied. Unique to Metrail is their hybrid power system, in which no electrical busbars or sub stations along the guideway are required to power the vehicles. 'Metrail Plus' trains will be used, which feature a low voltage, regenerative and multi-wheel drive system. Onboard auxilary power units (APU) generate the power required to propel 6-wheel bogies of the train. Frazer-Nash permanent magnet brushless motors are strong enough to help trains to climb 15% grades. The bogie design also permits turns within a tight 20-meter radius when necessary.