- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 05:27 06:41 12:35 15:52 18:22 19:36
Sheikh Mohammed with Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed and Mattar Al Tayer at the Rashidiya station yesterday after launching Dubai Metro. (SATISH KUMAR)
The driverless and state-of-the-art Dubai Metro opened last night, changing life in the city forever and injecting new vigour and enthusiasm into the emirate.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, used his own customised Nol card at exactly nine minutes and nine seconds past nine at the Mall of the Emirates station ticket validation point – the moment sparked grand celebration and fireworks to mark the festive launch of the Dh28 billion system that took four years to build.
Sheikh Mohammed called the Metro a vital component of the nation's infrastructure. "It's the start of something," he said before the operation's launch. "It is like when the first plane flew for Emirates airline and the first container ship arrived at [Rashid] Port."
"[I am] on the Metro and the ride is very smooth and quiet," Sheikh Mohammed said on his Twitter page soon after boarding the train.
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