Dubai Metro

A driverless future

Rapid population growth and rising numbers of tourists are a major challenge to Dubai’s transport infrastructure. The solution: the Dubai Metro. Highly efficient Wilo pumps do more than just guarantee the reliable operation of the driverless rail transport system. Wilo also received the contract to provide equipment to extend the track.

To guarantee the HVAC technology, the water supply and the wastewater discharge at each of the 56 stops of the Dubai Metro, Wilo delivered pressure-boosting systems as well as cold water and submersible pumps. “The task at hand was not just to select and supply the right products for the applications, but also to oversee the installation and commissioning over a period of a year,” says Yasser Nagi, Managing Director of Wilo UAE and Egypt.

Largest driverless rail transport system in the world

With a three-minute frequency at peak times, the metro has a capacity of around 13,000 passengers per direction per hour. The high passenger volumes are a major challenge to the functionality of the sanitation systems. The solution: nine wastewater pumps with the solids separation system, Wilo-EMUport CORE. These offer maximum operational reliability for the collection and transportation of sewage. The systems separate the wastewater into solids and pre-treated sewage, which means that larger solids do not have to be pumped by the hydraulics. While larger particles are collected in separation tanks, the pre-treated sewage is pumped back into a collection reservoir.

With a network length of 75 kilometres, 56 stations and 87 trains, Dubai Metro is the largest driverless rail transport system in the world. The Red Line and the Green Line travel underground below the city centre and on elevated tracks in other parts of the city. The extension will cover 15 kilometres (11.8 kilometres elevated and 3.2 kilometres underground).