Dubai Metro Route Planner
Plan any Dubai Metro or tram trip end to end: the route, how many stops, how long it takes, where you change, and what it costs on each card. Journey times come from RTA's own timetable rather than an average, so a full Red Line run from centrepoint to Expo 2020 shows the same 79 minutes RTA prints.
- Fastest route with every change shown
- Minutes taken from the RTA timetable
- Fare for Silver, Gold, Red Ticket and concessions
- Last train today for your starting station
How to use the dubai metro route planner
- Pick your start and destinationAll 55 metro stations and 11 tram stops are in the lists, with the zone shown beside each name.
- Choose your cardSilver, Gold Class, Red Ticket or a 50% concession. Swap reverses the trip in one tap.
- Read the routeYou get the fare, the minutes, the number of stops, where to change lines and the last train from your origin today.
Where you change lines in Dubai
The Red and Green Lines meet at two stations. Union is the northern interchange, inside Zone 5 near the creek, and BurJuman is the southern one in Bur Dubai. Both are inside the paid area, so a change costs nothing extra and does not restart your fare. The walk between platforms takes a couple of minutes at either station, and the planner adds an allowance for it plus the average wait for the next train.
The tram connects to the Red Line at two points: DMCC station links to Jumeirah Lakes Towers tram stop, and Sobha Realty links to Dubai Marina tram stop. Both connections use a footbridge, so they take longer than a platform change and you tap out and back in. As long as the second tap comes within 30 minutes, the whole thing stays one fare, as the fares guide explains.
How long a Dubai Metro trip really takes
A Red Line trip from centrepoint to Expo 2020 covers 30 stops and takes about 79 minutes. The Green Line runs end to end from e& to Creek in about 40 minutes over 19 stops. Most trips are far shorter: Airport Terminal 3 to Burj Khalifa is roughly 27 minutes, and Mall of the Emirates to Ibn Battuta about 18.
These figures come from the gaps between consecutive stations in the official timetable, so they include the time trains sit at each platform. What they do not include is your walk to the platform, the wait for the first train, or a rush hour crowd that makes you skip one. First and last departures are listed per station, and every station has its zone and code.
How the route planner works
The network is stored as a graph: 66 stations, 64 links between neighbouring stations and 4 connections between lines. Each link carries the minutes between those two stations, taken from the difference in their last train times in RTA timetable REG_20251215. The planner runs a shortest path search over that graph by time, then counts the distinct fare zones the winning route touches and prices it from the RTA table.
Interchange links carry an added allowance for the walk and the average wait. That allowance is our estimate and is labelled as such; every other minute on the page traces back to the published timetable.
Sources: RTA nol Fares, the RTA rail network map published December 2025 and the RTA metro and tram timetable. How we test these numbers.
What this page does not do
- Journey time excludes your walk to the platform and the wait for the first train.
- Interchange time is an estimate; station to station time is from the RTA timetable.
- Buses, feeder routes and marine transport are not part of the route search yet.
- Service changes, closures and Ramadan or holiday hours can shift the last train.
Estimates only, not official RTA confirmation. Check the gate display or rta.ae before you rely on a figure. Read the disclaimer.
Related tools and guides
NOL Fare Calculator 2026: Dubai Metro, Bus, Tram
Work out any Dubai Metro, bus or tram fare by zone and card type: Silver AED 3 to 7.50, Gold double, Red Ticket, concessions. Updated August 2026.
Dubai Metro First and Last Train Times by Station
First and last train for every Red and Green Line station, both directions, Monday to Sunday, from the official RTA timetable REG_20251215.
Dubai Metro Stations: All 55 Plus New Names
Every Dubai Metro station with code, line, zone, interchange and opening date, plus all 11 tram stops and every station renamed since 2009.
Dubai Metro Route Planner questions
How do I plan a Dubai Metro route?
Choose a start and destination above. The planner picks the fastest path, shows the stops, the minutes, where to change and the fare on every card.
Do I pay extra to change from the Red Line to the Green Line?
No. Union and BurJuman are inside the paid area, so changing lines costs nothing extra. The fare depends only on the zones your journey touches.
How long does the metro take from the airport to Downtown?
Airport Terminal 3 to Burj Khalifa or Dubai Mall is about 27 minutes on the Red Line with no change, and costs AED 5 on a Silver card.
Can I still finish my trip before the last train?
The planner shows the last departure from your origin today in the direction you are travelling. Because the last train may terminate short of the far end of the line, leave a margin on long trips.