Dubai Metro Red line route to Expo station disrupted by technical fault

Metro services between GGICO Station and Centrepoint and Expo stations are affected, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said on Wednesday

Services from GGICO Station, in Garhoud, connecting to the Centrepoint and Expo stations are disrupted by a technical fault. Photo: AFP

A section of Dubai Metro's Red line is down because of a technical problem, the Roads and Transport Authority said on Wednesday.

Services from GGICO Station, in Garhoud, connecting to the Centrepoint and Expo stations are disrupted, the RTA said in a social media alert shared at 3.15pm.

The transport authority said replacement buses had been laid on for commuters.

“For Dubai Metro Red line users, the RTA informs you that the Metro service at GGICO Station has been disrupted due to a technical issue,” the RTA wrote on Twitter.

“Buses have been provided to transport passengers heading to Centrepoint and Expo stations. We thank you for your understanding.”

The RTA confirmed that the route remained out of service in a further social media message posted at 5.14pm.

It clarified that the technical fault only impacted trains running from platform 1 at GGICO station towards Centrepoint and Expo stations.

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

The Red line connects the old city from Rashidiya and the airport to Downtown, Dubai Marina, and Expo 2020 in the far south-west.

The Green Line stations are in Bur Dubai and Deira in the city's old town.

Such faults are rare on the long-running transport link.

In October, journeys between Jebel Ali Station and DMCC stations (JLT) were halted for about 30 minutes because of a technical fault.

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

The metro's Red Line carried 1.34 billion commuters while the Green Line served more than 673 million, Dubai Media Office said in April.

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.

Dubai Metro — in pictures

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  View from the Burj Khalifa Metro station in Dubai. During some peak months, the average number of metro passengers touches 360,000 per day at a rate of about 20,000 riders per hour per direction in both lines, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the designed capacity of metro. Pawan Singh / The National

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  The Red Line stretches 52km and covers 29 stations — 4 underground stations, 24 elevated stations and one at ground level. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Station no. 22 on the Green Line, Palm Deira. The Green Line spans 23km linking 18 stations — 6 underground and 12 elevated stations. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  Both lines contain underground sections and the rest is an elevated track, with a limited part of the Red Line (3.3km) on ground level. Sarah Dea / The National

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  View of the Dubai Metro near Trade Centre in Dubai. The design and construction of the Dubai Metro project contract was awarded to Dubai Rapid Link (DURL) consortium. Pawan Singh / The National

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  The designed capacity of the Dubai Metro network (both Red and Green lines) is 26,000 riders per hour per direction. Both lines are expected to carry 800,000 riders per day (about 292 million per year) in 2020. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Three multilevel car parks have been built with an estimated capacity of more than 8,000 vehicles. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  Each of the Dubai Metro driverless trains consists of five fully air-conditioned carriages and has a capacity to accommodate about 650 passengers. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Terminal 3 Metro station in Dubai. 79 metro trains run on a daily basis. Satish Kumar / The National