RTA: Technical fault was cause of major delays on Dubai Metro service

The RTA apologized to commuters who were delayed for up to 90 minutes

Commuters were left stranded for up to 90 minutes at Red Line stations while services were delayed. Pawan Singh / The National.

Thousands of commuters taking the Dubai Metro were left stranded on Monday morning as services were delayed for up to 90 minutes due to a technical fault.

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said normal service resumed at 12pm.

Passengers travelling between Jumeirah Lakes Towers and UAE Exchange were among those particularly affected.

“We apologize to Dubai metro commuters along the Rashidiya and Jebel Ali direction specifically between Jumeirah Lakes Towers and UAE Exchange stations, as a result of a technical fault that is currently being resolved,” the authority said.

In a tweet, the authority tanked metro users for their cooperation with the operation team at the station and wished them a pleasant journey onward.

From 7.30am on Monday, passengers took to Twitter to share images and videos of commuters huddled around customer service desks and queuing to take trains that did not arrive.

Red Line services were interrupted with crowds forming at Burjuman, JLT, Damac, Union and UAE Exchange stations in particular and the public soon began looking for alternative transport options to avoid further delays to their days.

No trains were travelling past Rashidiya station, south-bound towards Jebel Ali according to resident Sergio Tobin.

Despite heavy delays and complaints, many tweeted their appreciation for the maintenance teams who worked quickly to solve the technical issue.

The delays come one week after Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram began running earlier services.

The metro's Red Line now starts at 5.00am instead of 5.30am, while the Green Line is in operation from 5.30am instead of 5.50am. The Dubai Tram now starts at 6am instead of 6.30am.