Palm Monorail
Monorail line in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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The Palm Monorail is a monorail line on the Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is operated by the UK-based Serco. The monorail connects the Palm Jumeirah to the mainland, with a planned further extension to the Red Line of the Dubai Metro.[2] The line opened on 30 April 2009 as the Palm Jumeirah Monorail.[3] It is the first monorail in the Middle East.[4]
| Palm Monorail Dubai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Monorail testing in February 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Dubai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transit type | straddle-beam monorail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of lines | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of stations | 4 Stations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily ridership | ~40,000 (capacity), under contemporary interval 23,000. Current ridership much lower. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began operation | 30 April 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ended operation | 5 December 2025 (indefinite suspension) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Serco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of vehicles | 4 (2009)[1] (only two visually seen in July 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System length | 5.45 kilometres (3 mi)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average speed | 35 km/h (22 mph) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed | 70 km/h (43 mph) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The trains are driverless, with attendants for any emergency situations.[1] It currently runs from Gateway Station to Atlantis Aquaventure and stops at the Al Ittihad Park Station and Palm Jumeirah Mall Station.
As of 5 December 2025 the monorail line has been suspended until further notice, with the operators citing essential station maintenance as the reason for closure.
History
Construction began on the 5.45-kilometre (3.39 mi) monorail line in March 2006,[2] under the supervision of Marubeni Corporation, with the monorail track completed in July 2008 and vehicle testing beginning in November 2008. Originally planned to open by December 2008,[5] the opening was delayed to 30 April 2009.[2][5] In 2010, day-to-day operations were taken over by the British company Serco.[6]
The project budget is US$400 million, with an additional US$190M set aside for a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) future extension to the Dubai Metro,[7] while other sources state a budget of US$1.1 billion.[8] A journey on the monorail costs Dhs20 one-way, 30 return.
The Al Ittihad Park station, originally intended to serve the cancelled Trump International Hotel and Tower development, was opened on 3 July 2017.[9] Nakheel Mall station opened on 28 November 2019.[10]
Technology
The Palm Monorail uses Hitachi Monorail straddle-type technology. The electro-mechanical works are carried out by ETA-Dubai in joint venture with Hitachi-Japan. Omron Electronics Company will provide the train equipment electronic system which will work by using the smart card technique.[11]
Ridership
Each carriage has 70 seats and can accommodate 232 standing passengers, for a total of 302 people.[11]
The line has a theoretical capacity of 40,000 passengers per day, with trains running every few minutes during peak hours and every 15 to 20 minutes during off-peak hours.[2][4] However, actual ridership averaged around 600 passengers per day during the first week,[12] and the monorail ran "virtually empty".[13] As of July 2017[update], the line runs every 11 minutes and averages 3,000 passengers per day.[9]
Stations
- Atlantis Aquaventure station — Atlantis, The Palm
- The Pointe station[14] closed from July 2023 for a redevelopment project.[15]
- Nakheel Mall station now changed the station name to Palm Jumeirah Mall
- Al Ittihad Park station — formerly Trump Plaza and Village Center Station
- Palm Gateway station — Gateway Towers, connection to Dubai Tram at Palm Jumeirah station (out-of-station interchange)
Palm Gateway station has more than 1,600 parking spaces available.[16]
- Planned extension
- Red Line — intended connection to Dubai Metro.[14] Meanwhile Dubai Internet City is the nearest metro station on the Dubai Metro Red Line.
Gallery
Monorail station in Nakheel mall
Inside the monorail train
