Dubai Metro
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.
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 15 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.In May 2005, a AED 12.45 billion design and build contract was awarded to the Dubai Rail Link consortium made up of Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Turkish firm Yapı Merkezi, 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 covers of the proposed network, including the Red Line between Al Rashidiya and the Jebel Ali Free Zone
File:Union Metro Station Dubai.jpg|thumb|The entrance to Union Station, one of two interchange stations that connects the Red Line with the Green Line
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, 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 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,Emirates Towers, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Marina, 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 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.
Operation
The Dubai Metro was operated by Serco under contract to the Roads & Transport Authority which was last renewed in March 2019. In March 2021, the Keolis MHI consortium of Keolis, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation was announced as a new operator from 8 September 2021.Red Line trains run every 5 to 7 minutes off-peak, with a minimum headway of 3 minutes 45 seconds 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. 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 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 500 seconds. 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.
| 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.
- Blue Line with a length of and 14 stations.
Red Line
Route 2020 is a 15 kilometer extension of the Red Line with seven new stations which starts at the Jebel Ali Station and ends at Expo 2020. Future plans 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
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. The line will extend from the Al Maktoum International Airport to Muhaisnah, a locality near the border between Dubai and Sharjah. There will be 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. The RTA have taken this into consideration.
- Pink Line: The Pink Line is planned to run east–west with a terminus at Al Sufouh and is scheduled for completion by 2030.
- 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.
- Red Line Extension: and six new stations, running past Jebel Ali Port, Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Waterfront and Ghantoot terminating at the border with Abu Dhabi. No dates for completion announced.
As of, none of these extensions or proposed lines have been started or discussed and are currently indefinitely suspended until further notice.
On the Green Line, the RTA finalized the extension plan of 20.6 kilometers from Al Jaddaf to Academic City in 2014. The extension is due to go through Festival City, Lagoons, Ras Al Khor Industrial Area, International City, Dubai Silicon Oasis, and Dubai Academic City. This was later approved as the new Blue Line, which construction started in 2024 and is scheduled to open on 9 September 2029, to coincide with the 20 year anniversary of Dubai Metro.
In 2018, the engineering firm Aurecon produced a study into a 7.5 km express metro line from Al Qiyadah station on the Green Line till Al Nahda-2 Stn. The line would cost AED 3 billion, and could reduce traffic congestion between the two cities by up to 30%.
In 2026, it was reported that RTA is planning to extend the Route 2020 section of the Red Line till the Al Maktoum International Airport.