Dubai Metro Blue Line To Have World's Highest Metro Station
While laying the foundation stone of the Dubai Metro Blue Line, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, also approved the distinctive architectural design of the iconic Emaar Properties Station, the highest metro station in the world, standing at 74 metres.
Inspired by the concept of a crossing gateway, the station was designed by the renowned American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), one of the world's leading design studios. The firm's portfolio includes iconic landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa, the Olympic Tower in New York, and the Sears Tower in Chicago.
The station is designed to integrate harmoniously into the existing urban environment and embodies the vision of 'Dubai: A Gateway to the Future'. Covering an area of approximately 11,000 square metres, the station is designed to accommodate up to 160,000 passengers per day, with the number of daily users expected to exceed 70,000 by 2040.
With the completion of the Blue Line project, Dubai's rail network will expand to a total of 131 km, comprising 78 stations and 168 trains.
The Dubai Metro has transported over 2.527 billion passengers from its launch on 9/9/2009 through the end of 2024. The Metro recorded a daily average of 900,000 passengers in 2024.
Ridership has grown steadily over the years, from 38.887 million in 2010 to 69 million in 2011, reflecting a growth rate of 77 per cent. It continued to rise to over 109 million passengers in 2012, before surpassing 200 million in 2017, jumping to 260 million in 2023 and hitting 275.4 million in 2024.
According to studies, the number of Dubai Metro passengers is expected to exceed 300 million in 2026 and reach 320 million by 2031. His Highness was also briefed on the expansion of metro stations. The service began in 2009 with 10 stations, reaching 26 stations in 2010 and growing to 46 stations in 2011. By 2014, the Dubai tram started operations, and the number of metro and tram stations soared to 56. In 2021, the launch of the metro's Route 2020 added seven more stations, raising the total to 64. The upcoming Blue Line will add 14 new stations to the network, which will bring the total number to 78.
His Highness was also briefed on the growth in the number of trains, which rose from 16 at the Metro's launch in 2009 to 44 in 2010. The figure reached 79 trains by 2011 and increased to 90 with the inauguration of the Dubai Tram in 2014, further expanding to 140 by 2021. With the Blue Line coming into operation, the total number of trains will increase to 168, comprising 157 metro trains and 11 tram trains.
The interior design of the station is curated to create a sense of luxury. Towering walls rise elegantly, finished in natural textures and warm, earthy tones that strengthen the connection to the land, reflect the spirit of place, and embody the community's resilience and cohesion. The overall architectural language creates a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all visitors.
The material palette features premium, durable finishes such as Jura limestone and bronze metal wall panels at the platform level, complemented by robust granite flooring. At both the lobby and platform levels, glass ceiling panels allow natural light to permeate the space, enhancing the feeling of openness and elevating the overall passenger experience. The combination of natural stone and polished metal creates a balance between elegance and sophistication, giving the station a distinctive character that unites tradition with modernity.
The station's construction materials were meticulously chosen to reflect a blend of heritage and modernity, incorporating stone, glass, and bronze, forming a symbol of Dubai's continuous pursuit of progress. Its dynamic form and architectural scale create a distinctive visual presence. Sustainability, longevity, and resilience to operational and climatic conditions were central to the selection process, supporting the station's ambition to meet the highest standards of environmental efficiency.
During the ceremony, it was announced that Emaar had secured the naming rights for the iconic Emaar Properties Station for 10 years, starting from its official inauguration in 2029. The next phase will include announcements regarding naming rights for other stations along the Blue Line.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Syyaha
21 hours ago
- Syyaha
Forbes Cover Highlights flynas Historic $1.1 IPO, the First Airline Listing in KSA
Forbes Middle East, the leading financial and economic magazine, highlighted the historic Initial Public Offering by flynas, the leading low-cost airline in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, that raised $1.1 billion in the first-ever airline listing in Saudi its August edition, Forbes published an exclusive interview with Bander Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, with his photo leading the magazine cover, about flynas 'flying ahead' on a new route for the low-cost aviation said that flynas made history being the first ever listed carrier in Saudi Arabia to go public after offering 30% of its shares to the public last June, raising $1.1 billion 'in a landmark IPO'. In the exclusive interview, the magazine explored Almohanna's vision and focus on further route expansion and new destinations for Middle East, the Arabic version of the renowned American magazine Forbes, quoted Almohanna as saying that the offering, which was 100% oversubscribed valuing the airline at $3.6 billion, marks 'a significant milestone not only for flynas but also for the Saudi financial market and the broader aviation sector.'The listing coincided with a surge in IPO momentum across the Gulf. Despite global headwinds, the GCC saw 27 deals raising $4.1 billion in the first half of 2025, with flynas topping the list with more than 25% of the total capital raised, Forbes highlighted.'flynas benefited from the Kingdom's resilience, robust growth, and the clarity of Vision 2030,' Almohanna said, highlighting the aviation's key role in the national said that Almohanna has joined flynas since its early stages as the Chief Financial Officer of the group, that was launched in 2007, and played a central role in flynas's evolution. With a background in finance, including a stint at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency from 1993 to 2002 in the Banking Supervision Department, transitioning from finance to aviation was a strategic evolution for Almohanna. 'My financial background gave me a solid foundation in understanding the economic dynamics of the airline industry,' Almohanna told Forbes. 'It has allowed me to make informed, data-driven decisions that support long-term operational and financial sustainability – something every CEO should be equibbed to do,' he was promoted to Executive Vice President in 2008 and became managing director and CEO in 2015, leading the flynas Group (flynas, NASJET, and flynas Hajj & Umrah) through rapid quoted Aljoharah Alsmari, VP of Investment Banking at BSF Capital, a lead manager of the IPO, as saying, 'As the only independent low-cost carrier in Saudi Arabia, flynas is internationally recognized for its operational efficiency and rapid growth.'As new entrants to the market emerge and legacy carriers expand, flynas continues to differentiate itself through its regional footprint, aggressive fleet expansion, and strategic focus on high-growth segments, particularly religious tourism, Forbes said. 'Competition is always welcome – it drives innovation,' Almohanna 2018, flynas launched its 'We Connect the World to the Kingdom' strategy, targeting international destinations that had not previously had direct routes to Saudi Arabia, Forbes said. Flynas plans to more than double its current fleet to 160 aircraft by 2030, with its network set to grow from over 70 destinations to 165 and more than 300 routes, Forbes for MENA's aviation sector, Almohanna sees a strong potential. 'Saudi Arabia, in particular, has all the right ingredients to become an aviation powerhouse,' he stressed. flynas, the leading low-cost airline in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, and the first airline listed on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) operates 139 routes to more than 70 domestic and international destinations in 30 countries with more than 2000 weekly flights and has flown more than 80 million passengers since its launch in 2007, with the aim to reach 165 domestic and international destinations within its growth and expansion plan, and in line with the objectives of Vision 2030.
Daily Tribune
07-08-2025
- Daily Tribune
Trump Demands Resignation of Intel CEO Over China Ties
President Donald Trump has publicly called for the resignation of Intel's newly appointed CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, citing concerns over what he described as "serious conflicts of interest" tied to Tan's investments in Chinese companies. 'There is no other solution to this problem,' Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, asserting that Tan's business relationships make his role at the U.S. tech giant untenable. The comments come in the wake of an earlier Reuters investigation, which revealed that Tan — either personally or through venture capital firms he controls — has poured at least $200 million into Chinese semiconductor and advanced manufacturing companies between 2012 and 2024. Some of those firms reportedly have links to China's military sector. Following Trump's remarks, Intel shares dropped 3.8% on Thursday, extending losses seen in premarket trading. Intel has yet to respond to media requests for comment on the matter. Tan, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, assumed the role of CEO earlier this year. His extensive investment history in China has raised alarms among some U.S. policymakers amid growing scrutiny over American corporate ties with strategic sectors in China. The controversy marks another flashpoint in ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology, national security, and supply chain independence.
Daily Tribune
04-08-2025
- Daily Tribune
We stopped teaching like its 1985. Here's what happened.
TDT | Manama You're 24. You walk into a job interview with a global tech firm. It's your dream role. A panel of three stares back at you, resumes in hand. The questions come fast. Go-to-market strategy for the UAE. Pricing model for a new subscription-based product. A curveball on AI ethics. You're nervous, but not frozen. You've been here before. Not once or twice, but again and again over the past week. What the panel doesn't know is that you've faced these exact questions. At 10 PM, 2 AM, whenever you needed to. Not with YouTube videos or coaching classes, but with an AI tutor that's been part of your MBA journey from day one, fully integrated into your curriculum. This tutor didn't spoon-feed answers or give generic hacks. It interrogated your thinking. Pulled up real questions asked by real companies. Challenged your logic until your answers held up under pressure. It even pushed back: 'What is the risk you're not seeing here?' or 'That answer sounds safe. Do you actually believe it?' This wasn't revision, it was targeted career prep shaped around you. And by the time you sat in that interview, you were ready. Sounds like a future ambition? It's not. It's happening right now at SP Jain School of Global Management. Students are showing up sharper. Cracking interviews in half the attempts it used to take. Not because they studied harder, but because we stopped teaching like it's 1985. Learning that listens, not lectures Walk into most university classrooms today, and you'll feel like you've stepped into a time capsule. A professor stands at the front, delivering a lecture. Students take notes. Then comes the exam, the grade, the degree. A model that hasn't changed in over a century. Meanwhile, the world outside is moving at warp speed. Job roles are being reinvented. Skills go obsolete in months. AI and automation are rewriting the rules. And yet, education remains slow, standardised, one-size-fits-all. The disconnect keeps growing, and students are the ones paying for it. So at SP Jain Global, we didn't just tweak the old model. We asked: what would learning look like if we built it for tomorrow's learners? The answer was AI. Not as a chatbot or a shiny tool on the side, but as the foundation. That's how we built AI-ELT, our AI-enabled learning assistant, to become a core part of how our students learn. Supporting the UAE's vision for AI As the first country in the world with a dedicated Minister of Artificial Intelligence and with a bold National Strategy for AI 2031, the UAE is actively shaping the future of global innovation. From the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai to introduce AI as a formal subject across K–12 schools in September 2025, to planning to issue over 100,000 Golden Visas to AI professionals, the country is investing deeply in building future-ready human capital to support the adoption of AI in the region. At SP Jain, we see it as our responsibility to carry His Highness' vision forward. Our AI-ELT virtual tutor is integrated into the learning curriculum from day one, equipping students with the skills to understand, apply, and adapt AI tools in real-world settings. As industries increasingly adopt AI across all sectors, we aim to prepare students for careers that align with this shift, ensuring they graduate with both the skills and mindset to thrive in an AI-integrated workplace. With an ambitious AI strategy and strong government support, there is no better city in the world than Dubai for a student looking to pursue a future career in artificial intelligence. More than technology. It's intent. AI-ELT wasn't built to just deliver content or run base-level quizzes. It was built to question you, challenge you, push you. It prepares you before class. Supports you after class. And sharpens your thinking when no one else is around. It takes you from two to four to six to ten. Step by step, until your thinking holds up anywhere. Imagine the confidence with which you enter class. You're energised because you're no longer scrambling to understand the basics. You've covered that with the AI already. You're ready to speak up. To debate. To make decisions. And so is everyone else. Class time shifts from what to why. From definitions to decisions. It becomes a live, intellectual workout. Faster-paced. More demanding. Infinitely more valuable. Even quiet students speak up because they've already done the hard thinking in private, with the AI-ELT forcing them to clarify and commit to their ideas. That's the real power of AI in education. Not automation. Not convenience. Not replacing teachers. But transformation. Removing the parts of education that never really worked. The lectures no one remembers. The surface-level prep. The guesswork. It's about creating thinkers, not note-takers. It's about turning classrooms into conversations. And most of all, it's about giving every student, not just the lucky few, access to the kind of deep, personal mentorship and learning that actually sticks. This is what education should have been all along. And now, it finally is.
