Y Tabloid - Issue 88 - September 15, 2009 - Y-oman.com

Hear my train a comin’The first urban metro network inthe Persian Gulf’s Arab states wasinaugurated on September 9 th inDubai. The system is expected toease the means of transportationfor millions of Emirati workers.Dubai has a rapidly growingpopulation, expected to increase to three million by 2017, and has seensevere traffic congestion problems percolate. The Dubai Municipality arepinning their hopes in the metro system to relieve traffic problems and supportcontinuing urban development. The Red Line covers a distance of 52.1kmand has 29 stations, four of which will be underground. Only 10 stationsare operational as of now. The journey is expected to take an hour totravel and can seat an estimated 32,000 passengers an hour. The GreenLine will consist of 18 stations and will run a distance of 22.5km. The DubaiMetro systemwill carry anaverage of1.2 millionp a s s e n g e r sa day or 355million peryear. Dubai’sRoads andTransport Authority (RTA) expects 318km of lines to be operational by2020. At the time of going to press, Y received word that the newly openedsections were experiencing technical difficulties, leaving many stranded forhours on end.DYNASTY DETENTIONFormer Taiwanese President, Chen Shui-bian, has been chargedwith fraud and money laundering, which has landed him with asentence of life in jail. Chen fervently denies the accusations thathe pocketed a total of RO 5.7 million during his eight years in office,believing that the charges are politically motivated and organisedby the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) government. His wife, Wu Shu-Chen, was also given the same sentence. Taipei District Courtconvicted Mr Chen on six charges and Mrs Wu on seven chargesand in addition to incarceration the couple were fined a total of RO5 million. The court also slapped a 20-30 month prison sentence onthe couple’s son and daughter-in-law for speculated involvement.10