Tools for every Dubai Metro question

Dubai Metro Guide is an independent resource and is not affiliated with the RTA. The fares in our tools follow the RTA's official Tier system and published fare tables, set out in the RTA Fares, Fines and Etiquette brochure, and the timings are based on the RTA's published schedules. We check our data against official sources, but fares, timings and routes are set by the RTA and can change, and hours shift during Ramadan and on public holidays. For anything you cannot afford to get wrong, such as the last train of the night or an exact fare, confirm it with the RTA or the S'hail app before you travel.

Yes. Every trip on the Metro and Tram needs a Nol card or a Nol Red ticket, which you tap at the gate to start your trip and again to finish it. You do not need one before you reach the station, though. You can buy a card in a few minutes at a ticket vending machine or a ticket office in any station, and top it up there too. A Silver Nol card costs AED 25 and comes with AED 19 of travel credit, while a paper Red ticket costs AED 2 to buy before you load the fare on top, per the RTA Fares, Fines and Etiquette brochure. Keep at least AED 7.50 on the card, as that is the minimum balance the gate needs to let you through, and note that there is no way to pay the fare with cash at the gate.

For most visitors and residents, the Silver Nol card is the right choice. It pays standard fares, needs no registration, and you can buy one in minutes. The Gold card costs the same and carries the same credit, but it lets you ride the Gold Class cabin at the front of the train, where the fare is double. The Blue Personalised card is registered to you, with your name and photo, so you can block it and recover the balance if it is lost, and it is the card you need for concession fares: students and senior residents travel at half price, and People of Determination travel free. The paper Red ticket suits a short stay of a few trips rather than regular travel. For a full comparison of prices, credit and limits, see the Nol card guide.

Your fare is set by the number of fare zones your trip crosses, not the distance you travel or the number of stops. The network is split into zones, and the RTA counts how many distinct zones lie between your start and end points: one zone, two zones, or three or more. On a Silver Nol card that comes to AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two zones, and AED 7.50 for three or more, per the RTA Fares, Fines and Etiquette brochure. Because it is the zones that count, a long ride that stays inside one zone is still the lowest fare, while a couple of stops that cross a zone boundary can cost more. A change between the Red and Green Lines at Union or BurJuman is charged once, by the total zones crossed, not as two trips. The fare calculator on this page works it out for you once you pick your start and end stations.

It depends on what you already know. If you have your start and end stations, begin with the route planner, which shows the stops, any change at an interchange such as Union or BurJuman, and an estimated time and fare. Use the fare calculator to check the cost and see which Tier your trip falls into. Check the timings tool for the first and last trains, which matters most for an early start or a late night out. And if you have not sorted out payment yet, read the Nol card guide before you arrive, so you know which card to buy and how to top it up.

No. The map shows the layout of the network, not the live position of trains. It covers the Red Line, the Green Line and the Dubai Tram, with the interchanges at Union and BurJuman, the walking links between the Metro and the Tram at DMCC and Sobha Realty, and the planned Blue and Gold lines. Use it to plan a route and see how the lines join up, rather than to track when the next train will arrive. You can open the full Metro map for the detail, and for live service updates, check the RTA's own channels or the S'hail app.

Yes. The tools and guides cover the Dubai Tram alongside the Metro. You can see the tram stops, work out the fare on the same Nol card, find the two walking links to the Red Line at DMCC and Sobha Realty, view the tram on the map, and check its operating hours. For the full picture, see the Dubai Tram guide.