Ten years ago, we supplied our fire resistant systems for, what was then, one of the most ambitious urban metro systems in the world.
This was the £4.5bn Dubai Metro – the largest infrastructure project in the UAE emirate for more than a decade.
At the time it was the longest fully automated metro system in the world, with just under 75km of magnetic track.
Since then, it has slipped to third in the world’s rankings, beaten on length by Vancouver and Singapore but, with plans to extend the network to 320km, may soon regain its crown.
We supplied over 300 square metres of curtain walling, fire rated to 60 minutes of integrity and insulation, and which included both framing systems and specialist glass.
The contract also included a number of fire-rated opening windows, mainly intended to protect the station’s primary evacuation route.
We were chosen for our international experience, specialist expertise in the supply of both the glass and steel frames in one integrated, tested and guaranteed system – and our ability to meet the demands of a complex project in just over one month from the order being placed.
Those remain our core strengths and in subsequent years we have worked on a number of major transportation projects, from the frontage of the iconic Kings Cross station to supplying to six Crossrail stations.
The popularity of driverless metro lines has grown significantly since the first opened in 1981, in Kobe, Japan. There are now more than 1,000km of fully automated metro lines worldwide, according to the International Association of Public Transport.
