Coronavirus in the UAE: Some information on this website is out of date as a result of measures taken in the UAE to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Confirm with official or authoritative sources.
Jumeirah Palm Island monorail in Dubai
The Jumeirah Palm monorail in Dubai was launched in May 2009 on the Jumeirah Palm Island and ferries commuters and tourists between the Atlantis hotel resort Aquaventure Park at one end of the island, and Gateway Towers at the entrance to the island, next to the One&Only Royal Mirage hotel. The train is elevated so passengers can get a good view over the Palm Island as they travel along. The opening of the monorail is significant as it is reportedly the first time public railway transport of this nature has started running in the UAE, the Gulf, and the Middle East.
| Ticket Prices | Hours | Train frequency | Journey length | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AED 15 one way | 0800-2200 | 15-30 mins | 5-10 mins one way | Gateway Towers |
| AED 25 return | 7 days | 5.45 km one way | Atlantis Aquaventure |
For public transport to the Atlantis hotel, it is presently easier to catch a taxi to or from either Dubai Internet City or Nakheel metro station and use the Dubai Metro. There is no public bus service to the Atlantis resort, and no easy bus or metro connection to the Palm Monorail Gateway station on the mainland, however after November 2014 the Dubai Tram will have a connecting station. RTA bus routes near the Palm Gateway station are 8, X28, 84, 88 but you'll have to walk 10-20 mins along Al Sufouh Rd, or into Dubai Internet City or Knowledge Village to find the nearest bus stop, which is ok in winter but uncomfortably hot in summer.
Jumeirah Palm Monorail ticket costs and travel information
- Monorail tickets cost AED 15 one way or AED 25 return.
- Season tickets are under consideration but no further information at the time of opening.
- Monorail operating hours are 0800-2200 (8am-10pm) seven days per week.
- Journey length (one way) is 5.45 km and takes 5 minutes.
- Train frequency was scheduled to be every 3 minutes during peak times, and every 12-15 minutes at off-peak times, but that changed to every 15-30 minutes after the monorail opened.
- Car parking (covered) available at the Gateway Towers station (for 1500 cars, expansion to 4500 cars possible in the future) in a multi-floor building which will eventually have a small food court and viewing platform.
Monorail route
- The Jumeirah Palm monorail route is fairly straight forward, it runs up the trunk of the island from the mainland to the Dubai Atlantis Hotel Resort. Four stations on the monorail route:
- Tecom Station (not open) - planned interchange with the Dubai Metro Red Line and/or Al Sufouh Tram.
- Gateway Towers Station (open).
- Palm Mall Village Center Station (closed).
- Trump Tower Station (closed) - or Palm Mall Station? Previously called Village Center Station.
- Atlantis Hotel (open).
- The Palm Mall Station and Trump Tower Station might be open in 2011 (and possibly renamed if the Trump Tower gets suspended - it's on hold at the time of the opening of the monorail). Update: as of Jul 2014 it's still not open, and unlikely to be for a few years yet.
- An additional station is expected to be added to service the new shopping development, The Pointe Palm Jumeirah, announced 11 January 2012 by Nakheel. See Dubai shopping malls for more information.
Jumeirah Palm Monorail facts and figures
- Cost of the Jumeirah Monorail project was AED 1.4 billion (US$380 million), equivalent to the cost of 56 million return tickets on the monorail, which would take about 5 years to recover if the train ran at full capacity of 2400 passengers per hour during opening hours.
- Monorail trains are driverless, total of 4 trains operating, will increase to 9 trains per hour after the monorail connects to the Dubai Metro. Each train has three carriages.
- Passenger capacity is 2,400 per hour, which will increase to 6,000 passengers per hour after Dubai Metro connection.
- Speed - up to 70 km per hour.
Jumeirah Palm Monorail operators
- Serco took over the operation of the Jumeirah Monorail from 06 August 2010. Serco are also the operators of the Dubai Metro (press release 08 August 2010).
- The monorail was operated by SMRT Engineering Pte Ltd of Singapore who supplied 100 employees to press the start and stop buttons from May 2009 to August 2010.
- Original operating contract with SMRT was signed in 2007, and supposed to continue for 6 years. Value of the contract was about AED 50 million per year. Contract covered maintenance, ticket sales, and station operations.
- An SMRT statement filed with the Singapore Stock Exchange on 08 July 2010 said "SMRT Corporation Ltd wishes to announce that Nakheel PJSC has today exercised its contractual right of early termination ... to terminate the contract for the operation and maintenance of Palm Monorail development in Dubai. ... Nakheel has stated in the notice that the termination is in line with the ongoing restructuring of its business."
Jumeirah Palm Monorail developers and personnel
- Monorail developed by consortium of developers, led by Marubeni Corp of Japan, and including Obayashi, a civil contractor Obayashi, and Hitachi, a train builder and mechanical/electrical contractor, at their Kasado Works plant in Japan.
- Monitoring of the project and quality assurance carried out by Mott MacDonald Group, a large UK based company with an office in Dubai (and just about any other city or country you can think of).
- Director of the monorail project is Marwan Al Qamzi, Executive Managing Director of Nakheel Southern Projects.
Jumeirah Monorail timeline and history
- One day ... the monorail will (or might) be extended to join the Dubai Metro on Sheikh Zayed Road at the TECOM station. Dubai Metro started operating in September 2009 and a bus service was planned for operation between the Gateway Towers Station and the Dubai Metro until the Jumeirah Monorail extension is completed. However no such bus service exists. Bus service and monorail extension plans probably replaced by Dubai Tram connection.
- Nov 2014 - the monorail is expected to connect to the Al Sufouh Tram, and indirectly to the Dubai Metro.
- 06 Aug 2010 - SERCO take over the operation of the Jumeirah Palm Monorail.
- 08 Jul 2010 - SMRT announces in a filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange that they have had their operating contract terminated by Nakheel with effect from 05 August 2010.
- 30 Apr 2009 - first operating date was 30 April 2009 or 06 May 2009 or 05 May 2009 depending on which newspaper you read. A press release from Nakheel says the official opening ceremony was Thursday 30 April 2009.
- Nov 2008 - testing of trains begins.
- Oct 2008 - first train delivered.
Last update Thursday 24-Jul-2014
Related pages
- Nakheel Palm Islands - Deira, Jebel Ali, Jumeirah palm islands.
- Tourist guide Dubai - other things to do for tourists.
Related websites (new window)
- [Disabled] Submit URL.