The Red Line is currently one of two lines of the Dubai Metro network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It runs from Centrepoint (formerly Rashidiya) in the east to Expo 2020 in the west and travels parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road for most of its length.
There are two interchange stations with the Green Line: Union and BurJuman. Additionally, Jabal Ali is an interchange between the main Red Line (Route 2020) to Expo 2020 and the branch line to Life Pharmacy. The Red Line has its main depot near Centrepoint and an auxiliary depot at Life Pharmacy."At a glance: Dubai Metro ", Gulf News, 19 March 2007. Retrieved on 17 June 2008.
Additionally, DMCC and Sobha Realty have connections to the Dubai Tram at Jumeirah Lake Towers and Dubai Marina stations, respectively.
History The first section was inaugurated on 9 September 2009 with ten stations opened. Construction was declared complete on 28 April 2010, with an additional sixteen stations opened during 2010.
In 2010, the Red Line carried a total of 38.888 million passengers with a daily average of about 149,000 people, according to the RTA Statistics Office. In 2013, the Red Line handled a total of over 88 million passengers and the daily average was about 243,000 people.
Three additional stations were added between 2011 and 2013, making a total of twenty-nine stations spanning . The line is the world's longest single rapid transit line to use driverless trains, as recognized by Guinness World Records in 2011.
Route 2020 extension As part of the Expo 2020 development in Dubai, an extension of the Red Line named Route 2020 was announced in December 2015 and originally due to be completed mid-2019. The extension project created a new section of the line from Jabal Ali to the Expo 2020 site, near Al Maktoum International Airport.
Construction of the Route 2020 line started in 2016 by the ExpoLink Consortium, comprising Alstom, Acciona, and Gülermak. The track layout east of Jabal Ali station was modified to create a new branch and two additional platforms to serve the new route. The line was formally inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's Ruler and UAE Prime Minister, on 8 July 2020. As a result of increasing popularity of the metro, the new stations feature platforms wider than those found in existing stations, to cope with greater ridership. The extension is in length, with above ground and below ground. Of the seven stations, five are elevated and two are underground. Eventually it is planned to extend the line beyond Expo 2020 to Al Maktoum International Airport, south of the Expo site. The route is expected to have 275,000 users each day by 2030.
The extension was partially opened on 1 January 2021, with trains running a shuttle service between Jabal Ali and Al Furjan. The section from Al Furjan to Expo 2020 was opened on 1 June 2021, allowing the extension to be fully operational, as well as the transfer of the main Red Line route from Life Pharmacy to Expo 2020.
The travel time between Centrepoint and Expo 2020 station is reported to be 1 hour 14 minutes with a service frequency of 2 minutes and 38 seconds during peak times (24 trains per hour in each direction), and a capacity of 16,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
The section from Jabal Ali to Life Pharmacy initially ran as a shuttle service, with passengers from Centrepoint needing to change at Jabal Ali Metro Station for stations to Life Pharmacy. From 15 April 2024, trains from Centrepoint began operating directly to Life Pharmacy, removing the need to change trains at Jabal Ali.
The directions depend on the timing of the Y junction where the Expo 2020 and Life Pharmacy branches meet in front of Jabal Ali Metro Station.
Route
As of 2021, the Red Line had 31 stations on the main line and an additional 4 stations on the branch. The line is long, with underground.
170 feeder buses, which are provided by the RTA for commuters to commute to stations on the line, are also in operation, as of 15 October 2010.
Red LineBranchStation CodeStation nameDate openedConnectionsStation TypePlatform TypeMainBranch English Arabic●11Centrepointسنتربوينت9 September 2009Centrepoint Metro Bus Station (Al Rashidiya Bus Station)ElevatedIsland and Side●12Emiratesطيران الإمارات30 April 2010Emirates HeadquartersElevatedSide●13Airport Terminal 3المطار- مبنى رقم 39 September 2009Dubai International Airport Terminal 3ElevatedIsland●14Airport Terminal 1المطار- مبنى رقم 130 April 2010Dubai International Airport Terminal 1ElevatedSide●15Al Garhoudالقرهود15 May 2010ElevatedSide●16City Centre Deira سيتي سنتر ديرة9 September 2009UndergroundSide●17Al RiggaالرقةUndergroundSide●18UnionالاتحادUndergroundIsland and Side●19BurJumanبرجمانUndergroundSide●20ADCBبنك أبوظبي التجاري30 April 2010ElevatedSide●21Maxماكس9 September 2009ElevatedSide●22World Trade Centreالمركز التجاري العالمي15 May 2010ElevatedSide●23Emirates Towersأبراج الإمارات30 April 2010Museum of the FutureElevatedSide●24Financial Centreمركز دبي المالي العالمي9 September 2009Gate Avenue at DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre)ElevatedSide●25Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mallدبي مول / برج خليفة4 January 2010Dubai MallElevatedSide●26Business Bayالخليج التجاري15 October 2010ElevatedSide●29Garminغارمن15 May 2010ElevatedSide●31Equitiاكويتي15 October 2010ElevatedSide●32Mall of the Emiratesمول الإمارات9 September 2009Mall of the EmiratesElevatedSide●33Insurance Marketسوق التأمين15 October 2010ElevatedSide●34Dubai Internet Cityمدينة دبي للانترنت30 April 2010The One TowerElevatedSide●35Al Fardan Exchangeالفردان للصرافة15 October 2010Arenco Tower (AAM Tower)ElevatedIsland●36Sobha Realtyشوبا العقارية 30 April 2010Interchange with Dubai Tram.ElevatedSide●37DMCCأبراج بحيرات جميرا15 October 2010Interchange with Dubai Tram. ElevatedSide●●38National Paintsدهانات ناشونال9 September 2009Interchange with Red Line fork from Jabal Ali to Life PharmacyElevatedIsland and Side●39Ibn Battutaابن بطوطة30 April 2010Ibn Battuta Mall and Ibn Battuta Bus StationElevatedSide●40Energyالطاقة30 September 2013ElevatedSide●41Danubeدانوب12 December 2012ElevatedSide●42Life Pharmacyصيدلية لايف11 March 2011At GradeSide●70The Gardensالحدائق1 January 2021ElevatedSide●71Discovery Gardensديسكفري جاردنزElevatedSide●72Al FurjanالفرجانElevatedSide●73Jumeirah Golf Estatesعقارات جميرا للجولف1 September 2021UndergroundSide●74Dubai Investment Parkمجمع دبي للاستثمار1 June 2021UndergroundSide●76Expo 20202020 اكسبوExpo City DubaiElevatedIsland and Side
Services
The entire journey time on the Red Line is approximately 74 minutes, travelling at a maximum speed of , with 20–30 seconds of stopping time at each station. The average time between stations on the Red Line is 60–90 seconds. The RTA operates 27 trains in the morning peak hours and 29 trains in the evening peak hours, with the interval between train services ranging from 6 to 8 minutes in the morning peak period, and from 5 to 6 minutes in the evening peak period.
On 1 September 2025, the RTA announced the introduction of a new peak-hour service between Centrepoint and Al Fardan Exchange to ease congestion. These services will terminate in the middle platform at Al Fardan Exchange.
Commercial station branding naming The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has benefited significantly from businesses along the routes of the Red and Green lines sponsoring nearby stations. The naming initiative has so far generated over Dh2 billion in revenue for the RTA. On average, each station has brought in Dh90-100 million.
On 13 May 2010, it was announced that Al Quoz station, which opened on 15 May, would be named Noor Islamic Bank. This announcement that Noor Islamic Bank won the right to name Al Quoz Station for a period of ten years was made in the presence of the bank's representatives at the RTA headquarters in Dubai. Moreover, several other stations on the Red Line have been named after local and international corporate giants, including the airline Emirates, GGICO, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (Al Karama), First Abu Dhabi Bank, Sharaf DG, Nakheel Properties, DAMAC Properties (Dubai Marina), Danube (Jebel Ali Industrial) and Mashreq. +Current station nameDatePrevious station name(s)Date of changeCentrepoint4 August 2021RashidiyaBurJuman12 December 2012Khalid bin Al WaleedADCB15 September 2014Al KaramaMax4 August 2021Al JafiliyaOnpassive11 January 2023Noor Islamic BankNoor BankAl Safa30 November 2020Equiti18 April 2022First Gulf BankFirst Abu Dhabi BankUmm Al Sheif25 November 2020Insurance Market5 September 2024MashreqAl Khail25 November 2020NakheelSobha Realty9 August 2021Dubai MarinaDAMAC PropertiesDubai Marina25 November 2020DMCC13 August 2018Jumeirah Lakes TowersJabal Ali18 May 2020Nakheel Harbour & TowerDanube12 November 2012Jebel Ali IndustrialUAE Exchange28 June 2015Jebel Ali +Station code/numberCurrent namePrevious name(s)Start dateEnd date11CentrepointRashidiya3 August 202115Al GarhoudGarhoudGGICO16City Centre DeiraDeira City Centre19BurJumanKhalid Bin Al Waleed11 December 201220ADCBAl Karama14 September 201421Max (styled as max)Al Jafiliya3 August 202129OnpassiveNoor Islamic BankNoor BankAl Safa30 November 202010 January 202331Equiti (styled as equiti)FGB (First Gulf Bank)First Abu Dhabi Bank24 November 2020Umm Al Sheif25 November 202017 April 202233Insurance MarketSharaf DGMashreq4 September 202435Al Fardan ExchangeNakheel24 November 2020Al Khail25 November 202036Sobha RealtyDubai MarinaDAMAC PropertiesDubai Marina25 November 20208 August 202137DMCCJumeirah Lakes Towers12 August 201838National PaintsNakheel Harbour & Tower17 May 2020Jabal Ali18 May 202040EnergyDUBAL41DanubeJebel Ali Industrial11 November 201242Life PharmacyJebel Ali27 June 2015UAE Exchange28 June 2015
References
External links
Dubai Metro 2015: Red Line Jebel Ali (UAE Exchange) – Rashidiya HD on YouTube Dubai Metro Red Line 2019 UAE Exchange To Rashidiya on YouTube Dubai Metro 2015: Red Line Jebel Ali (UAE Exchange) – Rashidiya HD on YouTube