The opening of the Dubai Investment Park Station and Expo 2020 Station comes six months after the opening of Route 2020, which launched its maiden journey on January 1, 2021, with four stations namely Jebel Ali (a transfer station on the Red Line), The Gardens, The Discovery Gardens, and Al Furjan.

The metro service to Expo 2020 will be available to those entitled to access the site of Expo only until its official public opening on October 1, the RTA said.

"From June 1, journeys of Dubai Metro's Red Line will shuttle directly between Al Rashidiya Station and Expo 2020 Station. Jebel Ali Station will be an interchange station for those heading to or coming from UAE Exchange Station. As of June 1, the Metro service to Expo 2020 Station will be available only to those entitled to access the site of Expo until its official public opening on October 1. By that time, the public can use the metro service to Expo. The opening of the Jumeirah Golf Estates Station will coincide with the opening of Expo," announced Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Journey schedules

From Saturday to Wednesday, the first journey from Al Rashidiya Station to Expo 2020 Station and vice-versa will start at 5am, and the last journey will start at 12am (midnight). On Thursday, the first journey will start at 5am and the last journey will start at 1.30 am (of the following day). On Friday, the first journey will start at 10am and the last journey will start at 1.30am (of the following day).

The travel time between Al Rashidiya and Expo Stations will be 1 hour and 14 minutes. The service frequency will be 2 minutes and 38 seconds during peak time at a rate of 24 trains per hour per direction, and a capacity of 16,000 riders per hour per direction.

The travel time between Jebel Ali Station and the UAE Exchange Station will be 11 minutes and 42 seconds, with a constant service frequency of 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The start of the Green Line service will be advanced to 5am, and the service frequency on the line will be 5 minutes during peak times.

The two stations

The Dubai Investment Park Station is an underground station. It spans 27,000 square metres in area and extends 226 metres in length. It can serve 13,899 riders per hour during peak times and 250,000 riders per day. The station has 2 boarding platforms, 4 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 2 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 8 outlets of 315 square metres for commercial investment.

The Expo 2020 Station is an elevated station. It is the terminal station of Route 2020 that mainly serves visitors of Expo. It has a unique plane-wing design symbolising Dubai's future drive towards innovation. The station spans 18,800 square metres in area and extends 119 metres in length. It can serve 29,000 riders per hour during peak times and 522,000 riders per day. The station has 3 boarding platforms and 3 routes. It is linked from the Eastern side with Expo and Expo COEX, and from the Western side with the Mall and the urban complex. The station design serves the integration with public transit means with spaces for buses and taxis stands comprising 6 bus stands, 20 taxi stands and 4 parking slots for people of determination. It also offers 9 outlets of 264 square metres for commercial investment in addition to 4 spaces as points of sale.

The operations so far

Since the start of the operation on January 1 this year, Route 2020 of Dubai Metro has carried out 27,043 journeys: 6,938 journeys in January, 6,287 journeys in February, 6,986 journeys in March, and 6,832 journeys in April.

Capacity

Route 2020 has a capacity of 46,000 riders per hour in both directions (23,000 riders per hour per direction). RTA's studies anticipate the number of riders using Route 2020 to reach 125,000 riders per day in 2021, and increase to 275,000 riders per day by 2030. Studies also reveal that Expo Station is expected to record about 35,000 daily visitors of Expo during weekdays, and the number is expected to increase to 47,000 thousand daily visitors during weekends. This number accounts for 29 per cent of the total expected number of daily visitors to Expo.

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