The Roads and Transport Authority of the Government of Dubai (RTA) has awarded a 13-year maintenance contract for the Al Sufouh tramway in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to a consortium comprised of Alstom and Cofely Besix Facility Management (FM).

The total value of the contract amounts to €120 million, including €68 million for Alstom, the consortium’s leader, and €52 million for Cofely Besix FM. It includes an option for a five-year extension in the amount of €50 million.
The contract is for the maintenance of the rolling stock and fixed installations to be delivered by Alstom and Cofely Besix FM for phase 1 of the Dubai tramway project. This phase 1 includes the supply of 11 Citadis tramsets, 10 km of track, 13 stations and other equipment (electrification, signalling, ticketing systems…).

The maintenance contract includes preventive and corrective routine maintenance, equipment renewal, technical support, management of spare-parts inventories for the Citadis tramsets and the implementation of major maintenance programme. It also involves maintaining the passenger stations, maintenance depot, track and platforms, points and crossings, power supply and distribution equipment, ground-level power supply system (APS), communication and signalling systems and other electromechanical installations in perfect condition.

This overall maintenance service, based on performance objectives measured daily in terms of the availability of the transport system and its infrastructures, will ensure optimal operating conditions for the trams, which will run for 20 hours a day, from 5 am to 1 am. Cofely Besix FM will be in charge of maintaining the stations and depot (MEP Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) and will provide associated services in the stations and along the track.

A phase 2 of the Dubai tramway project provides for 14 additional Citadis tramsets, as well as four additional km of track and six stations.

Building on the ongoing work for phase 1 of the project, this maintenance contract highlights the relationship of trust that has developed between RTA and the members of the consortium. With the start of commercial services slated for the end of 2014, Dubai will become the first city in the Gulf region to operate a tramway system. The APS technology selected for use on the Dubai tramway is a catenary-free system which helps to preserve the urban environment and historic heritage of city centres. It has been in service in Bordeaux since 2003 and has also been selected by the cities of Rheims, Angers and Orleans in France. This state-of-the-art technology is perfectly suited to the compelling modernity of Dubai.