Firms bid for Dubai rail masterplan

9 October 2025

 

Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has received proposals from consultants for a study to update the emirate’s rail masterplan.

The bidders are:

  • Mott MacDonald (UK)
  • Sener (Spain)
  • AtkinsRealis (Canada)
  • Dar Al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) (Lebanon)
  • Reza Mohammadi Consultancy (local)
  • Parsons (US)
  • WSP (Canada)
  • Aecom (US)
  • Arup (UK)
  • Jacobs (US)

The rail masterplan study will update and modify the RTA’s rail network, which includes the Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram. These plans will support Dubai’s 2040 urban masterplan, which aims for all residents to be within a 30-minute metro or light-rail trip to their place of work. 

The existing network includes the Red and Green Lines of the Dubai Metro and the Dubai Tram, which connects Al-Sufouh and Dubai Marina to the metro network. The last rail project to start operations in Dubai was the Red Line extension that opened for Expo 2020.

There are also existing and planned rail lines connecting Dubai to other emirates that are being developed and operated by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Rail. These include passenger and freight services as well as a high-speed rail connection.

Rail projects

Two metro lines are under development in Dubai. A contract to build and supply equipment for the Blue Line was awarded in December last year. The RTA awarded a AED20.5bn main contract to a consortium of Turkiye’s Limak Holding; Mapa Group, also of Turkiye; and the Hong Kong office of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation.

The Blue Line consists of 14 stations, including three interchange stations at Al-Jaddaf, Al-Rashidiya and International City 1, as well as an iconic station in Dubai Creek Harbour. By 2040, daily ridership on the Blue Line is projected to reach 320,000 passengers. It will be the first Dubai Metro line to cross Dubai Creek on a 1,300-metre viaduct.

Another line, known as Metro Line 4 or the Gold Line, is also planned. It is at an earlier stage of development, with US-based Aecom selected as the design consultant earlier this year.

It will start at Al-Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai, then run parallel to – and alleviate pressure on – the existing Red Line, before heading inland to Business Bay, Meydan, Global Village and residential developments in Dubailand.

Other metro lines in Dubai have been planned before, including lines connecting to Al-Maktoum International airport. Connections to the airport are expected to become a strategic priority for Dubai as it advances with expansion plans for the airport that will make it the largest in the world.

The rail masterplan is updated periodically to reflect changes in the development of the emirate. The RTA awarded AtkinsRealis a contract to update Dubai’s rail masterplan in 2016. WSP completed an earlier transit study.


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Colin Foreman
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