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It's six thirty in the morning and Dubai's new tram system is running like clockwork. Passenger Mohammed Younes can't wait to take his first ride on the 10.6 kilometre (6.6 mile) route. But working out how to buy a ticket is his first hurdle - until a friendly tram worker steps in. "I already planned to be the first passenger of the tram. So I already made a plan and after the prayer of the fajr I go out from my home and I travel, by walk and I reached the tram station and I am happy to be the first passenger on the tram," he says. On board, the tram is bright and spacious, offering an alternative to driving along Dubai's rapidly developing southwestern coast, an area popular with expatriate professionals and the ever-growing numbers of foreign tourists. Starting from the Al Sufouh Street in Dubai, the tram connects Dubai Marina - home to the Dubai Marina Mall - and the Jumeirah Beach Road (JBR) to Dubai Media and Education City. The line includes 11 stations. Officials plan to extend the line to eventually include 17 stations. The Marina area is known for its congestion and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) hopes the tram network will provide some relief. "Due to the traffic congestion, I never go over there due to the congestion. Now I think it is relaxed. I can go with my family in the evening or the afternoon time so it is very convenient for all the residents of Dubai," says Younes. The tramline opened to the public this morning following a fireworks-studded inauguration the previous evening. The RTA has declined to say how much the first phase of the project cost, but it valued a 75-month operating contract granted to British firm Serco at 105 million dirhams (28.6 million US dollars). A consortium including French engineering firm Alstom and Belgian construction company Besix built the line. Sultan Saeed Subhi, originally from Oman, has decided to try out the tram on opening day. He says he's glad to find an affordable alternative to the city's ubiquitous taxis. Tickets are affordable - the base fare is three Dirhams (0.82 US cents). "It is really going to ease things for people going from one place to another. It makes it easy with NOL (transit card used across transportation platforms) and less expensive than using taxis so it is a nice thing," says Subhi. Dubai authorities are eager to promote public transport - particularly as population numbers swell as the city recovers from its 2009 financial crisis and as it gears up to host the World Expo in 2020. Tram commuters can also connect to the Dubai Metro, a driverless elevated rail line that opened in 2009, as well as an existing monorail line which glides down the middle of the city's first man-made palm-shaped island, Palm Jumeirah. Like the metro, each tram contains a special women-only section and a "gold class" compartment for those willing to pay double the base fare of 3 dirhams (82 cents). But some users are reserving judgement on the new service. "For now it is okay. For me I just take it for one station and yes lets see. Lets see if it working without being late," says Joseph Fawzy. While others are just relieved at having another commuting option, like Biby Mathews. "If you look at Dubai I think it is old world meeting new world. The entire city is built on that concept so I think the tram ease more of the traffic headaches," she says. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/42fbe1c5f2f9a15e51cefd84d8f1f59c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork