Dubai Metro has carried more than two billion passengers since its launch

The train network covers 89km and connects 53 stations

The view from inside a driverless metro train in Dubai. AFP

More than two billion passengers have used the Dubai Metro since its launch on September 9, 2009.

The metro's red line transported 1.34 billion commuters while the green line served more than 673 million, Dubai Media Office said on Sunday.

It also said the metro has maintained a punctuality rate of 99.7 per cent and the average daily numbers of passengers was more than 616,000 last year.

More than 621 million journeys were made on Dubai public transport in 2022 — an increase of 35 per cent from the previous year.

The surge came amid the emirate's population boom and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with the return of major events and conferences.

Dubai's population surpassed 3.5 million in April 2022 and has grown by another 71,785 since then, according to the Dubai Statistics Centre's live population counter.

Expo 2020 Dubai — which concluded on March 31 last year — caused a spike in visitor numbers in its final months. Many of them will have used public transport to get to the world's fair site.

“Statistics reveal a consistent rise in Dubai Metro ridership since the start of the service in September 2009,” said Mattar Al Tayer, the RTA's director general and chairman.

“During the first four months after its inauguration, the metro served 6.089 million riders.

“By 2010, the number of riders surged from 38.089 million in 2010 to 69.007 million in 2011, the year the Green Line was inaugurated.

“By the end of 2017, the total number of metro users since its launch exceeded one billion.

“In 2022, the Dubai Metro set a new record and the highest since its launch by serving 225.142 million riders, a remarkable growth rate of nearly 49 per cent and since its inauguration through January of 2023 exceeded two billion.”

The metro consists of the Red and Green lines, which cover 89.3km and connect 53 stations served by a fleet of 129 trains.

How the Dubai Metro was built: in pictures

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  Workers build an underground tunnel at Union Square Station, one of two underground stations where both Dubai Metro lines meet, in 2008. Reuters

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  Construction of a metro station on Sheikh Zayed Road in January 2009. Alamy

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  Scores of buildings under construction along the new metro line are seen on June 15, 2008. AFP

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  Construction of a track line support column for Dubai Metro under way. Alamy

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  Workers at a construction site for Dubai Metro pictured on May 28, 2008. AFP

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  Construction for Dubai Metro under way ahead of its inauguration in 2009.

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  Dubai Metro passes Dubai Marina during test runs a week before its opening on September 9, 2009. Stephen Lock / The National

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  Murals painted on the Metro support pillars in November 2018. They were painted by two international artists, Peruvian Daniel Cortez and Dominican-born, Miami-based Elio Mercado, known as Evoca1. Reem Mohammed / The National

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  Commuters file into Noor Bank Metro Station in September 2018. Victor Besa / The National

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  Commuters wait to take the Metro.

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  Dubai Metro has served more than 1.5bn passengers since it opened 10 years ago.