However services on the opening day will be restricted to VIPs invited by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The system will open to the public the following day.

Stations opening on the first day are Rashidiya, Dubai International Airport (Terminal 3), Deira City Centre, Al Rigga, Union Square, Khalid bin Waleed, Al Jafiliya, Dubai International Financial Centre, Mall of the Emirates, and Nakheel Harbour & Tower.

The remaining stations will open over the coming months.

Throughout Ramadan the Dubai Metro service will operate from Saturday to Thursday 6 am until midnight. On Friday services will run from 2 pm to midnight.

After Ramadan the Metro service will run from Saturday to Thursday, 6.am to 11 pm, and on Fridays 2 pm to midnight.

Other VIBs are found at Terminal 1 and several shopping malls (BurJuman Centre, Deira City Centre, Ibn Battuta Mall, and Wafi City Mall).

Staff at VIBs can provide tourists with a great deal of information to help them with planning their vacation. They also stock brochures, maps, entertainment guides, and much more.

Terminal 3 will be used exclusively by Emirates airline and will almost double the airport’s passenger capacity from 34 million passengers per year to 60 million. It is specifically designed to handle Emirates’ fleet of Airbus A380 jumbo jets.