The Dubai Metro is the most convenient and inexpensive way to get around the city during the day: no traffic jams, precisely on schedule and paid for with a single card. This overview guide brings together everything important about the Dubai Metro in 2026 — lines, operating hours, prices, carriage classes and the route from the airport — and for each topic there’s a link to a separate detailed article.
What the Dubai Metro is
The Dubai Metro opened in 2009 and became the region’s first system of such scale. It’s run by the emirate’s transport authority — the RTA (Roads and Transport Authority), which also sets the fares. The main feature: the trains are fully driverless — there’s no driver in the cab, the trains are controlled by automation, so the front of the first carriage is taken up by panoramic windows with a view of the city.
The metro is overground and underground at the same time: most of the route runs on a viaduct along the main thoroughfares, which makes the trip a scenic tour past the skyscrapers of Sheikh Zayed Road. All stations are air-conditioned, the passageways are covered and the signage is duplicated in English — the Dubai Metro is intuitive for tourists from the first ride.
Metro lines
There are two main lines in the system. We’ve covered the full metro map with stations and zones separately, and here’s a short overview.
| Line | Route | What it serves |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Centrepoint (Rashidiya) → Expo 2020 / Expo City | Airport, Downtown, Marina |
| Green | Etisalat → Creek | Old Deira and Bur Dubai |
The Red line is the city’s main artery. It stretches from Centrepoint station in Rashidiya through the airport (terminals 1 and 3), the Union and BurJuman hubs, Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station, Mall of the Emirates, DMCC (Marina / JLT) and Ibn Battuta. At the end of the line there’s a Route 2020 branch, which leads to Expo 2020 / Expo City station — the exhibition city in the south of the emirate.
The Green line runs from Etisalat station to Creek and serves historic Deira (Gold Souq, Baniyas Square), Healthcare City and Al Jadaf. You can change from the Red line to the Green and back at two stations — Union and BurJuman.
Operating hours and intervals
The metro runs almost around the clock, but not at night. The schedule depends on the day of the week:
| Day | Operating hours |
|---|---|
| Mon–Thu and Sat | 5:00 – 24:00 |
| Friday | 5:00 – 01:00 |
| Sunday | from 8:00 |
The intervals between trains are short: 2–3 minutes at rush hour and 5–7 minutes the rest of the time. Because of this you don’t need to know the train schedule — a train arrives quickly. The main thing to remember is that the metro is closed at night: after midnight (on Friday, after 1 a.m.) you’ll have to take a taxi.
How much a ride costs
The metro fare is zonal: the city is divided into 7 zones, and you pay for the number of zones crossed, not for distance or the number of stations. The prices on a Silver Nol card (for 2026, fares set by the RTA) are as follows:
| Trip | Cost (Silver) |
|---|---|
| 1 zone | ≈ 3 AED |
| 2 zones | ≈ 5 AED |
| 3 or more zones | ≈ 7.5 AED |
In a Gold Class carriage the fare is roughly double. There’s also a daily cap on charges: for Silver and Blue cards it’s about 14 AED — no matter how many trips you make, no more than that will be deducted in a day. A detailed breakdown of zones and example routes is in the article on fares by zone.
The Nol card
Fares are paid for only with a Nol card — cash isn’t accepted on the metro. A single card can pay on the metro, buses, the tram and water transport. There are several types:
| Card | Who it suits | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Red Ticket | For one-off trips | Paper, ~2 AED, up to 10 trips |
| Silver | For tourists and most passengers | Universal, ~25 AED |
| Gold | For the Gold Class carriage | Premium fare |
| Blue | Concessionary | Personalised, for residents |
For a tourist, Silver is almost always the best choice: it pays for itself by the second or third day. How to buy and top up the card at a machine in a station is covered step by step in the article on the Nol card and how to top it up.
Carriage classes
A train has three types of zones:
- Standard (Silver) — ordinary carriages that make up most of the train.
- Gold Class — a higher-comfort carriage with soft seats and fewer passengers; the fare is about double and requires a Gold Nol card.
- Women and children’s carriage — a designated zone that men aren’t allowed to enter; it helps avoid crowding at rush hour.
The zones are marked on the platform and on the carriage floor, so they’re hard to mix up. If you’re travelling with children or want comfort at rush hour, it makes sense to pay extra for Gold.
How to get from the airport
The Red line passes right through DXB airport: the Airport Terminal 1 and Airport Terminal 3 stations are located at the respective terminals. It’s the cheapest way to get to the city — a trip to Downtown will cost just a few dirhams. But there are caveats: at rush hour the carriage is cramped with suitcases, and the metro doesn’t run at night, so for a late flight people choose a taxi. All the options with prices and times are in the guide on how to get from the airport.
Tips for tourists
A few little things will make your trips easier. Sit at the front of the first carriage — from there, through the panoramic windscreen, you get the best view of the city. Keep your Nol card topped up so you don’t have to queue at the machine before a trip. Plan your route to stay within one or two zones — that’s cheaper. At the DMCC and Sobha Realty stations in the Marina, the metro connects with the overground Dubai Tram — handy for getting along the coast to JBR.
You can conveniently see which station is where on the metro on the map, and how the metro fits into the overall system of getting around the city is in the overview of Dubai transport. With the metro the city becomes truly accessible: most attractions — from the Burj Khalifa to the Marina — are a couple of minutes’ walk from a station.
