Serco is pleased to announce [today 30th April 2008] that the ABS consortium of which it is part has been selected by the Dubai Government Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) as Preferred Bidder for the delivery of the Al Safooh tramway transit system in Dubai.

The ABS consortium, consisting of Serco, Alstom and Besix will be responsible for the design, build, operation and maintenance of Phase 1 of the £400m Al Safooh tramway which is scheduled to enter commercial service by 2011 and which will run along the Al Safooh Road through the new Dubai Marina. The operation and maintenance element of the contract, for which Serco has responsibility, is valued at over £120m and is expected to run for 18 years from 2011. Serco will also provide pre-launch consultancy and planning, starting in mid-2008.

The Al Safooh transit network will form an important part of the improvements to public transportation in Dubai needed to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding city infrastructure. It will use cutting edge technology including a street level power supply system and air conditioning between the platforms and the tramway. When complete, the tramway will provide some 14 kilometres of track along with 19 stations. Serco will run the operations control centre, provide tram drivers, ticket inspectors and all staff at the stations, as well as maintaining the rolling stock, track and station facilities.

Nick Brown, Chief Executive of Serco’s Integrated Transport Division said: “We are delighted to have been selected as Preferred Bidder for the contract to run the Al Safooh transit system and look forward to working with the Dubai RTA to deliver this important transport project”.