The Dubai Metro () is a rapid transit system in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The metro system consists of a network of two main lines: the Red Line and the Green Line. A third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled to open in 2029. A fourth line, the Gold Line, was announced on 22 April 2026, and is scheduled to open in 2032.
Dubai Metro was the first rapid transit train network in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It began operations on 9 September 2009. The metro runs underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere. All trains are fully automated and driverless. Both the trains and stations are temperature controlled and have platform edge doors. Dubai Metro has a total length of and 55 stations, 35 on the Red Line and 20 on the Green Line.
From 2009 to 2016, Dubai Metro was the world's longest driverless metro network with a route length of , as recognized by Guinness World Records in 2012. The system was surpassed by the Vancouver SkyTrain in 2016 for the longest fully automated system in the world but regained the title in 2021 with the opening of Route 2020 until December 2024 when it was surpassed by the opening of Riyadh Metro.
History
In 1997, Dubai Municipality studies on urban development identified the need for a rail system to relieve growing traffic levels and to support the urban development in Dubai. Planning of the Dubai Metro began under the directive of Dubai's Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2003. Dubai expected to attract 15 million visitors by 2010. The combination of a rapidly growing population, which was expected to reach 3 million by 2017, and severe traffic congestion necessitated the building of an urban rail system to provide additional public transportation capacity, relieve motor traffic, and provide infrastructure for additional development. In 2004, five consortia were shortlisted to build the first section.Final Bidding Underway In Dubai International Railway Journal November 2004 page 10Dubai Takes On 100% Of LRT Financing International Railway Journal February 2005 page 9
In May 2005, a AED 12.45 billion ($3.4 billion) design and build contract was awarded to the Dubai Rail Link (DURL) consortium made up of Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Turkish firm Yapı Merkezi,Dubai metro contract awarded Railway Gazette International 1 July 2007 The Project Management and Construction Management services contract was awarded to a French-American joint venture between Systra and Parsons Corporation. The first phase worth AED 15.5 billion ($4.2 billion) covers of the proposed network, including the Red Line between Al Rashidiya and the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Work officially commenced on the construction of the metro on 21 March 2006. In February 2009, an RTA Rail Agency official stated the US$4.2 billion Dubai Metro project would be completed on schedule despite the 2008 financial crisis. 10 out of 29 metro stations of the Red Line opened on 9 September 2009.
The Red Line was partially opened at 9 minutes and 9 seconds past 9 pm on 9 September 2009 (9/9/9 9:09:09 PM), inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. More than 110,000 people, nearly 10 percent of Dubai's population at the time, used the Metro in its first two days of operation. The Line opened to the public at 6 am (UTC 04:00) on 10 September 2009. The Dubai Metro carried 10 million passengers from launch on 9 September 2009 to 9 February 2010 with 11 stations operational on the Red Line.
Seven more stations on the Red Line opened on 30 April 2010: Emirates, Airport Terminal 1, Al Karama (now ADCB), Emirates Towers, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Marina (now Sobha Realty), and Ibn Battuta. Ten new trains were pressed into service, giving a total of 22 trains in service when the stations opened. In addition to this, a further three stations were opened on 15 May 2010; Al Garhoud Station and World Trade Centre Station. Furthermore, Business Bay, Equiti, InsuranceMarket (Al Barsha) Station, Al Fardan Exchange, and DMCC were opened on 15 October 2010. The Life Pharmacy Station and the terminus of the Red Line was opened on 11 March 2011. The Danube was opened on 12 December 2012. Al Jadaf Station and Creek Station, on the Green Line were opened on 1 March 2014.
A extension of the Red Line known as Route 2020, which connects to Expo 2020, was announced in September 2016, and was completed and inaugurated on 8 July 2020. Engineering consultancy Atkins provided multidisciplinary design and management of the civil works on Route 2020.
A third line with 14 stations, called the Blue Line, was announced on 24 November 2023, with a total investment of AED 18 billion, and an expected operational date by 2029. The Blue Line will extend from the terminus of the Red Line on Centrepoint Station and the Green Line terminus at the Creek Station.
A fourth line with 18 stations, called the Gold Line, was announced on 22 April 2026, with a total investment of AED 34 billion, and an expected operational date by 2032.The Gold Line will run from Al Ghubaiba to Jumeirah Golf Estates, with interchange connections to the existing Red and Green Lines, and a future interchange with Etihad Rail.
Operation
The Dubai Metro was operated by Serco under contract to the Roads & Transport Authority which was last renewed in March 2019.keolis signs Dubai Metro contract extension Metro Report International 1 April 2019RTA renews Dubai Metro O&M Contract with keolis ME Construction News 1 April 2019 In March 2021, the Keolis MHI consortium of Keolis (70%), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (25%) and Mitsubishi Corporation (5%) was announced as a new operator from 8 September 2021.About Us Keolis MHI
Red Line trains run every 5 to 7 minutes off-peak (averaging 8.5 trains per hour), with a minimum headway of 3 minutes 45 seconds (16 trains per hour) during peak hours, with 44 trainsets in service. Trains from the Red Line and Green Line can depart differently due to technical glitches. From 2010, when 51 trains were in service, the line had a peak-hour capacity of 11,675 passengers per hour in each direction. , the Red Line operates 60 trains (set numbers 5001–5045, 5065–5079). The theoretical maximum design capacity is 25,720 passengers per hour, which would require 106 trains.
The Green Line had an initial capacity of 6,395 passengers per hour per direction, with 19 trains (set numbers 5046–5064) in service as of September 2014. The design capacity of this route is put at 13,380 passengers per hour with 60 trains in service.
Signalling To permit fully automated operation, Thales Rail Signalling Solutions supplies SelTrac IS communications-based train control and NetTrac central control technology. This is configured for a minimum headway of 90 seconds (40 trains per hour). The top speed of the trains is estimated to be around , giving a round-trip time of 2 hours 23 minutes for the Red Line and 1 hour 23 minutes for the Green Line.
Ridership Over 280,000 passengers used the Dubai Metro during the first week of its operation in September 2009. After the first month of operation on a limited network, the monthly total passengers was 1,740,578 passengers, which equates to under 60,000 passengers/day.
After the opening of more stations in May 2010, ridership surged to 103,002 passengers/day and reached 130,000/day by the beginning of October 2010. When the Green Line opened on 9 September 2011, passengers on the Red Line was noted as 180,000/day. In 2013, passengers rose to 377,000/day, split 64% for the Red Line and 36% for the Green Line. During the first half of 2015, RTA announced that 88,252,034 passengers have used the metro. In August 2017, RTA announced that total ridership since 2009 had surpassed 1 billion total trips.
+ Annual ridership Year Total ridership 2009 6,089,000 2010 38,089,000 2011 69,001,000 2012 109,049,000 2013 137,076,000 2014 164,031,000 2015 178,065,000 2016 191,300,000 2017 200,075,000 2018 204,000,000 2019 202,978,067 2020 113,063,000 2021 151,026,000 2022 225,142,000 2023 260,034,000 2024 275,400,000
Lines
Dubai Metro currently has a total length of and 55 stations on two lines: Red Line with a total length of and 35 stations. Green Line with a total length of and 20 stations.
Two lines are under construction as of April 2026: Blue Line with a length of and 14 stations. It is scheduled to open in 2029. Gold Line with a total length of and 18 stations. It is scheduled to open in 2032.
Red Line
The Red Line stretches along the city from the Jebel Ali area to the border with Sharjah. It passes through several tourist attractions such as Mall of the Emirates, The Dubai Mall, and Burj Khalifa.
Route 2020 is a 15 kilometer (9 mi) extension of the Red Line with seven new stations which starts at the Jebel Ali Station and ends at Expo 2020. An extension currently underway will also extend this line to the Al Maktoum International Airport. The extension is served by new, redesigned trains from Alstom. The extension opened in stages in 2021.
Green Line
The Green Line stays within the old Dubai area. It passes through historical sites, such as the Dubai Museum, the Gold Souk, and the Spice Souk. Stations near those places are built in keeping with the historical architecture of Dubai that mirrors the architecture of the surrounding area. The stations also have with photos depicting the UAE in the 1960s or earlier being on display within the station.
Summary of lines +LinesTerminalsConstruction startedOpenedNewest ExtensionLength StationsTrip timemax speedaverage speedRed LineCentrepoint Life Pharmacy 2006 2009 2021 67 34 55–75 minutes 60–80 km/h 34 km/h Expo 2020 2016 2021 11 minutesGreen Line E& Creek 2006 2011 2014 22.5 20 39–40 minutes 60–90 km/h 34 km/hBlue Line CreekAcademic City 2025 2029 30 14 CentrepointGold LineAl GhubaibaJumeirah Golf EstatesTBA20324218
Proposed In 2011, the RTA stated that there are no "immediate plans" to build the Blue and Purple lines "in the next five or six years". This is mainly because the planned area is empty and developing.
In 2013, the RTA laid out a three-phase plan to expand the existing lines and build new ones: extending the Green Line by 12 stations and to Academic City by 2020; expanding the overall system by 58 stations and by 2025 and completing expansion with a total of 69 stations and 221 km over and above the present 47 stations and that are present as of January 2013. Purple Line: along Al Khail Road (E44). The line was proposed to extend from the Al Maktoum International Airport to Muhaisnah, a locality near the border between Dubai and Sharjah. There plan called for about eight stations, three with check-in facilities. However, The Dubai Airports Authority claimed that this was unfeasible as it did not pass through many localities. They however suggested opting for a "central terminal" similar to those in Europe where trains leave from inside the airport to the other airport with trains also leaving to the city. Pink Line: The Pink Line was planned to run east–west with a terminus at Al Sufouh and was scheduled for completion by 2030.Dubai metro expansion plans Railway Gazette International 30 September 2014 Gold Line: Announced as the 'Yellow Line' in April 2008 and confirmed in January 2013 as the 'Gold Line'. One of the stations planned for the Gold Line is the Dubailand Station, west of Meydan. The Gold Line will connect Arabian Ranches, Deira, and Dubai Marina and is scheduled to open by 2025, however this was cancelled due to the financial crisis. In 2025, it was reported that the Gold Line will be rerouted to run parallel to the Red Line to ease congestion and deviate southwards at Business Bay to run past Dubailand, Global Village and Meydan.