Dubai & MND Explore Developing Autonomous Urban Ropeway

As part of its endeavours to come up with efficient solutions for developing an aerial transport network in Dubai, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with French mobility specialist MND, a leading company in the ropeways industry.

This MoU comes with RTA efforts to achieve Dubai vision to have 25% of all trips to be self-driving by 2030. MND and RTA commits to work together to study and implement CABLINE system to contribute to this vision. The CABLINE system developed by the ropeways specialist MND, with support of the French State Agency for sustainable development ADEME, is perfectly fitting these objectives and aims at offering a completely new experience for aerial transportation.

Designed to integrate and connect to a city’s existing inter-modal transport network, CABLINE is fully automatic system, with self-propelled cabins moving over ropes at speeds up to 45 km per hour. This technology uses a minimalist infrastructure easy and fast to integrate while offering the same benefits of obstacle clearance, small footprint and energy optimizationas traditional ropeway transportation. Adapted to urban stakes, CABLINE allows easier maintenance to guarantee high availability and fiability rate of the urban transport system and optimal service for the passengers. This disruptive technology embarks patented solutions and rely on the strong and proven references of MND and its partners in the field of conventional ropeways.

Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim Younes, CEO of Rail Agency, signed the MoU on behalf of RTA, and Xavier Gallot-Lavallée, Chairman and CEO of MND, signed on behalf of the French Group MND. Rail Agency is the agency responsible for providing and operating all modes of rail transport on behalf of RTA.

“The signing of this MoU is part of RTA’s ongoing efforts to increase public transportation trips to 26% by 2030. Realizing this objective requires developing advanced innovative transport systems and improving the sustainable transport network in Dubai to encourage people and visitors to use public transport. MND is a leading group for ropeways infrastructure and working on a new driverless high-speed system. This CABLINE system by MND is flexible, energy saving, and minor impact on the urban context”, said Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim Younes, CEO of Rail Agency.  

“MND is very proud to work with RTA to achieve their vision of sustainable mobility and fully integrating urban network combining innovative technologies and modes. We believe the CABLINE technology under development in our ropeways design and innovation center based in the French Alps can contribute to new urban transportation experience. Our engineering and partners teams has been working hard in the last years to finalize design and make CABLINE a unique and disruptive technology to ease and make urban mobility more reliable”, said Xavier Gallot-Lavallée, CEO of MND.  

Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in today's world, making the provision of high quality infrastructure facilities absolutely imperative. With that in mind, as well as the high priority allocated by the government of Dubai to the provision of an advanced transport network for the people of Dubai, RTA endeavours to improve the public transport facilities and develop roads across the emirate to make travel safer and smoother. Established as one of the key authorities within the government, RTA has played an integral role in the overall development of Dubai, paving its way into becoming one of the smartest cities in the world.