The Dubai Metro map has two lines in service, Red and Green, covering 55 stations across 89.6km. Trains run from 05:00 to midnight on most days, from 08:00 on Sundays, and a third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled for 2029.
The part of the map most guides skip is the numbering. Every station carries a code, and once you can read it you stop needing the map at all.
The Dubai Metro map at a glance
| Line | Runs between | Stations |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Centrepoint (R11) and Expo 2020 (R76), with a branch to Life Pharmacy (R42) | 35 |
| Green | its northern terminus (G11) and Creek (G30) | 20 |
| Blue | Centrepoint to Creek, under construction | 14 planned |
Line data for the two operating lines comes from the RTA timetable, which lists the termini and interchanges in the same place as the hours.
Two stations connect Red and Green: Union (R18/G20) and BurJuman (R19/G26). Two more, SOBHA REALITY (R36) and DMCC (R37), connect the metro to the Dubai Tram. Those four are the only places the network branches, which is why a Dubai Metro map is a much simpler object than the diagrams for London or Tokyo.
The system is driverless and runs under automatic train operation, with air-conditioned trains and stations. Between 2009 and 2016 it held a Guinness record as the world’s longest driverless metro network, at 75km of route, according to the network’s reference history.
The station numbers, and what they tell you
Each station code is a letter and a number: R for the Red Line, G for the Green Line. Centrepoint is R11, Expo 2020 is R76, Creek is G30.
The numbers climb along the line rather than counting stations, which is why the Red Line reaches 76 with only 35 stops. The gaps are deliberate, leaving room for stations that have not been built yet, so the codes on either side of a new opening never have to shift. A network that has added an Expo branch and is about to add a third line needs that headroom more than most.
Interchanges carry both codes at once. Union is R18/G20 because it is the eighteenth position on the Red Line and the twentieth on the Green, and a sign reading “R19/G26” tells you BurJuman before you have found the station name.
This is the practical use of the numbered map: on a platform, the code is printed larger and in more places than the name, and it survives a station being renamed after a new sponsor. Dubai renames stations often.
Dubai Metro timings
| Day | Station opening hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 05:00 to 00:00 |
| Friday | 05:00 to 01:00 the next morning |
| Saturday | 05:00 to 00:00 |
| Sunday | 08:00 to 00:00 |
These are the RTA’s published station opening hours, and they apply to all lines rather than varying by line. Sunday is the one that catches people out: a three-hour later start is the difference between making an early flight by metro and needing a taxi, and it is not signposted anywhere except the timetable. Holiday schedules move as well, and the RTA publishes those separately, through the banner on its homepage rather than on the timetable page.
Where to get the official map
The RTA publishes the network map as a PDF on its own site, and that is the version worth downloading, because it is the one the station signage matches. Third-party maps circulate widely and a good number still show the pre-Expo layout.
The date matters more than usual here. A map printed before 2021 carries no Expo 2020 extension at the southern end of the Red Line. Any map showing the Blue Line as an operating service is projecting rather than reporting, and the sponsor-named stations move too: Expo 2020, Life Pharmacy, SOBHA REALITY and DMCC all sit on the current map under names that did not exist a few years ago.
The Blue Line, and what the map will look like in 2029
The Blue Line was announced on 24 November 2023 and is scheduled to open in 2029, running 30km with 14 stations. Its route answers a question the current map leaves open: it will link the Red Line terminus at Centrepoint with the Green Line terminus at Creek. Today those two ends of the network face each other across the city with no direct connection, so a journey between them routes all the way back through Union or BurJuman.
The Blue Line closes that loop.
Common questions
How many stations does the Dubai Metro have?
55 in service: 35 on the Red Line and 20 on the Green Line. The Blue Line will add 14 more when it opens, taking the network to 69.
Where can I download the Dubai Metro map PDF?
From the RTA’s own public-transport pages, where the metro and tram station map is published alongside the timetable. That copy is the one kept in step with station signage and renamings.
What time does the Dubai Metro start running?
05:00 from Monday to Saturday, and 08:00 on Sunday. Closing is midnight on every day except Friday, when the network runs until 01:00 the following morning.
Where do the Red and Green lines meet?
At Union and BurJuman, the only two interchanges between them. Union is coded R18/G20 and BurJuman R19/G26, and both codes appear on platform signage at those stations.
