Dubai Metro – United Arab Emirates

Dubai was the first city in the Middle East to equip itself with an automated metro network signed SYSTRA in 2009. It now has two lines, including the longest automated metro line in the world. 

The Dubai Metro is one of SYSTRA’s many signature projects. The Group was present at all stages of its creation as consultant, then project manager: during the feasibility and preliminary design phases from 2003, the management of calls for tender and then construction supervision from 2005, right up to the commissioning of the lines, in September 2009 for the Red Line and September 2011 for the Green Line. 

Then, in a second phase, we prepared the extension of the Red Line in a project management consortium with Parsons. Named Route 2020 and designed to serve the Universal Exposition (Expo 2020) organised by the Emirate, this project, launched in 2014, was officially inaugurated in July 2020.

The creation of the Dubai Metro is one of the most emblematic projects in our history. It represents nearly two decades of SYSTRA’s commitment to creating a world-class infrastructure in a record time. More than just a means of public transport in an area which is no longer geared towards individual mobility, the metro has redefined city life for Dubai’s inhabitants, linking residential areas, business districts, the international airport and free and commercial zones. 

Ten years after its commissioning, Dubai’s metro remains one of the most modern transport systems in the world, and has become part of the mobility habits of both residents and tourists. Its success is demonstrated by a ridership that exceeds 200 million people per year. Each train is fully automatic with platform facades and air-conditioned stations. The U-shaped viaduct is used for the elevated sections, allowing both a light aesthetic integration into the landscape and savings in the consumption of materials during construction.  Safety and sustainable development are at the heart of the Route 2020 extension. This is demonstrated by the achievement of more than 23 million man hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI), and the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification of the seven new stations that mark the extension of the Red Line, similar to the HQE (High Environmental Quality) standard in France, which demonstrates the energy and environmental efficiency of such buildings.

our expertise in large infrastructure: U-shaped viaduct  

The Green Line and Red Line of the Dubai Metro include 58.7 km (36.5 mi) of elevated guideway, mainly consisting of a U-shape precast segmental superstructure.

The viaducts of the overhead sections use the U-shaped viaduct technique, which allows for a light aesthetic insertion in the landscape as well as savings in material consumption during construction. 

The project won the French Engineering Award, the nation’s highest honor for an engineering project.