Dubai Metro Red Line Stations
The Dubai Metro Red Line has 35 stations, running 67 km from centrepoint in Al Rashidiya to Life Pharmacy in Jabal Ali, with a six stop Route 2020 branch that leaves the trunk at National Paints for Expo 2020. End to end takes about 79 minutes on the official RTA timetable. It is the older and busier of the two lines, opened on 9 September 2009.
All 35 Red Line stations in order
Trunk stations run from R11 at the northern end to R42 in the south, and the branch is numbered separately from R70 to R76. There is no R27, R28, R30 or R75: those codes were reserved for stations that never got built. Four trunk stations are underground, all of them in the older Deira and Bur Dubai section, two more sit below ground on the branch, and Life Pharmacy is the only stop at street level.
Zones change three times along the line. The first eight stations are in Zone 5, the run from BurJuman to Business Bay is in Zone 6, ONPASSIVE through Al Furjan is in Zone 2, and the last few stops at each southern end are in Zone 1. A trip inside one zone costs AED 3 on a Silver card, so Mall of the Emirates to Ibn Battuta is as cheap as one stop.
Ten of these stations opened on day one in September 2009: centrepoint, Airport Terminal 3, City Centre Deira, Al Rigga, Union, BurJuman, max, Financial Centre, Mall of the Emirates and National Paints. Most of the rest followed through 2010, Energy arrived in 2013, and the branch stations came in 2021. The Green Line list covers the other 20 stations on the network.
| Code | Station | Zone | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| R11 | centrepoint | Zone 5 | Free parking, 2,700 spaces. Was Rashidiya |
| R12 | Emirates | Zone 5 | Elevated. Serves Al Garhoud |
| R13 | Airport Terminal 3 | Zone 5 | Elevated. Serves Dubai International Airport (DXB) |
| R14 | Airport Terminal 1 | Zone 5 | Elevated. Serves Dubai International Airport (DXB) |
| R15 | Al Garhoud | Zone 5 | Was GGICO |
| R16 | City Centre Deira | Zone 5 | Underground. Was Deira City Centre |
| R17 | Al Rigga | Zone 5 | Underground |
| R18 | Union | Zone 5 | Change to the Green Line. Underground |
| R19 | BurJuman | Zone 6 | Change to the Green Line. Underground. Was Khalid Bin Al Waleed |
| R20 | ADCB | Zone 6 | Was Al Karama |
| R21 | max | Zone 6 | Was Al Jafiliya |
| R22 | World Trade Centre | Zone 6 | Elevated. Serves Trade Centre |
| R23 | Emirates Towers | Zone 6 | Elevated. Serves DIFC, Sheikh Zayed Road |
| R24 | Financial Centre | Zone 6 | Elevated. Serves DIFC |
| R25 | Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall | Zone 6 | Elevated. Serves Downtown Dubai |
| R26 | Business Bay | Zone 6 | Elevated. Serves Business Bay |
| R29 | ONPASSIVE | Zone 2 | Was Al Safa, then Noor Bank |
| R31 | equiti | Zone 2 | Was Umm Al Sheif, then First Abu Dhabi Bank |
| R32 | Mall of the Emirates | Zone 2 | Elevated. Serves Al Barsha |
| R33 | InsuranceMarket | Zone 2 | Was Sharaf DG, then Mashreq |
| R34 | Dubai Internet City | Zone 2 | Elevated. Serves Dubai Internet City |
| R35 | Al Fardan Exchange | Zone 2 | Was Nakheel, then Al Khail |
| R36 | SOBHA REALTY | Zone 2 | Tram link to Dubai Marina. Was Dubai Marina, then DAMAC Properties |
| R37 | DMCC | Zone 2 | Tram link to Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Was Jumeirah Lakes Towers |
| R38 | National Paints | Zone 2 | Route 2020 branch splits here. Was Nakheel Harbour & Tower, then Jabal Ali |
| R39 | Ibn Battuta | Zone 2 | Bus link to Al Maktoum airport |
| R40 | Energy | Zone 2 | Was DUBAL |
| R41 | Danube | Zone 1 | Was Jebel Ali Industrial |
| R42 | Life Pharmacy | Zone 1 | Terminus. At street level. Free parking, 3,000 spaces. Was Jebel Ali, then UAE Exchange |
| R70 | The Gardens | Zone 2 | Elevated. Serves The Gardens |
| R71 | Discovery Gardens | Zone 2 | Elevated. Serves Discovery Gardens |
| R72 | Al Furjan | Zone 2 | Elevated. Serves Al Furjan |
| R73 | Jumeirah Golf Estates | Zone 1 | Underground. Free parking, 400 spaces |
| R74 | Dubai Investment Park | Zone 1 | Underground |
| R76 | Expo 2020 | Zone 1 | Terminus |
Order and names from the RTA rail network map published December 2025.
The Route 2020 branch to Expo 2020
The branch opened in 2021 and adds six stations: The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai Investment Park and Expo 2020. It splits from the trunk at National Paints, which is why that station is drawn as a junction rather than an ordinary stop. From National Paints to Expo 2020 takes about 18 minutes.
Not every Red Line train serves the branch. Services alternate between Life Pharmacy and Expo 2020 from National Paints onwards, so the platform indicator is the thing to read rather than the line colour. Get it wrong and you end up at Danube instead of Al Furjan, four stops and a wait away from where you meant to be.
Two of the six branch stations are underground, Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Investment Park, and Jumeirah Golf Estates has free parking for 400 cars. Jumeirah Golf Estates also sits on the boundary between zones 1 and 2 and takes the cheaper of the two when it starts or ends your trip.
How long the Red Line takes end to end
centrepoint to Expo 2020 runs about 79 minutes, and centrepoint to Life Pharmacy about 75. Those figures come from the gaps between consecutive stations in RTA's own first and last train timetable, serial REG_20251215, rather than from an estimate. Most station to station hops take two to three minutes.
Useful chunks of that: Airport Terminal 3 to Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall is roughly 26 minutes, Union to Mall of the Emirates about 22, and Business Bay to ONPASSIVE is the longest single gap on the trunk at 5 minutes with nothing in between. The route planner builds any pair from the same timetable data.
Since 1 September 2025 some peak services short turn between centrepoint and Al Fardan Exchange instead of running the whole line, which raises frequency on the busiest middle section. RTA does not publish a headway table, so we quote no frequency figure as fact.
Landmarks along the Red Line
The Red Line is the tourist line. Airport Terminal 3 and Airport Terminal 1 put you at Dubai International with a suitcase, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall lands at the tallest building in the world by way of a long footbridge, Mall of the Emirates opens into Ski Dubai, and Ibn Battuta drops you inside its own mall. World Trade Centre, Emirates Towers and Financial Centre cover the business district.
At the southern end the line serves the Marina twice over. Sobha Realty connects by footbridge to the Dubai Marina tram stop, and DMCC connects to Jumeirah Lakes Towers, which is how you reach Palm Jumeirah and the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence. Both tram links are covered here, along with the two metro interchanges at Union and BurJuman.
Deira and Bur Dubai are covered too, though the Green Line does that job better. City Centre Deira sits under the mall of the same name, Al Rigga is the heart of the old shopping district, and BurJuman opens into its own mall as well as the Green Line platforms. ADCB and max serve Al Karama and Al Jafiliya, two of the densest residential areas the line touches.
Parking, underground stops and busy platforms
Two Red Line stations offer free park and ride: centrepoint at the northern end with 2,700 spaces and Life Pharmacy at the southern end with 3,000. Jumeirah Golf Estates on the branch adds 400 more. All three are aimed at drivers coming in from outside the city rather than at residents. The park and ride rules and the overstay fine are set out separately.
City Centre Deira, Al Rigga, Union and BurJuman are the underground stops on the trunk, which makes them the comfortable ones in August because the cooling reaches the street. BurJuman was the busiest station on the network in 2025 with 17.8 million riders, Al Rigga took 13.8 million and Union 13.6 million, so all three fill up first at peak.
Peak crowding is worth planning around at the southern end as well. Sobha Realty and DMCC feed the Marina and JLT towers, so the platforms there fill in the reverse direction to Deira: busy northbound in the morning, busy southbound at 18:00. A trip that runs against that flow is a far more comfortable ride for exactly the same fare.
The Red Line stops that catch people out
National Paints is the one to watch. It looks like an ordinary stop on the map, but it is where the line splits, and a train that says Expo 2020 will not take you to Life Pharmacy or Danube. The second trap is Sobha Realty and DMCC: neither is inside Dubai Marina or JLT, and both need a footbridge walk plus a tram ride to finish the journey, which is why we allow 8 minutes for that link.
The stations at the far south are the thinnest. Energy, Danube and Al Fardan Exchange sit beside service roads with little around them, and arriving there without a plan for the last mile means a long wait for a taxi. Anyone heading to Expo City on a Sunday should also check the clock, because nothing moves before 08:00.
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Frequently asked questions
How many stations are on the Dubai Metro Red Line?
35 in total: 29 on the trunk from centrepoint to Life Pharmacy and six on the Route 2020 branch from National Paints to Expo 2020. The line covers about 67 km, which makes it the longer of the two metro lines.
What are the first and last stations on the Red Line?
centrepoint at R11 in Al Rashidiya is the northern end. The southern ends are Life Pharmacy at R42 on the trunk and Expo 2020 at R76 on the branch, so the line has two southern termini rather than one.
How long does the Red Line take end to end?
About 79 minutes from centrepoint to Expo 2020 and about 75 minutes from centrepoint to Life Pharmacy, derived from RTA's own first and last train timetable. Individual hops between stations run two to three minutes.
Which Red Line stations are underground?
Six: City Centre Deira, Al Rigga, Union and BurJuman on the trunk, plus Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Investment Park on the Route 2020 branch. Every other Red Line station is elevated apart from Life Pharmacy, which is at street level.
Where does the Red Line meet the Green Line?
At Union and at BurJuman, one stop apart. Both changes happen inside the paid area, so you do not tap out, and we allow 6 minutes for the platform walk plus an average wait.
Does the Red Line go to Expo City?
Yes, through the Route 2020 branch that leaves the trunk at National Paints. Expo 2020 station is in Zone 1, so a trip from Deira or the airport touches four zones and costs AED 7.50 on a Silver card.
Which Red Line stations have free parking?
centrepoint with 2,700 spaces, Life Pharmacy with 3,000 and Jumeirah Golf Estates with 400. All three lots are free for metro riders, with a fine of AED 100 a day for overstaying.