Dubai Metro to Expo City Dubai: Which Station, Time & Fare

Dubai Metro to Expo City Dubai: Which Station, Time & Fare

The Expo 2020 station drops you inside Expo City Dubai, so the Metro is the simplest way to get there. The station sits at the end of the Route 2020 branch of the Red Line, and you walk straight from the platform into the grounds. The trip takes between about 3 minutes from Dubai Investment Park and about 75 minutes from Centrepoint, and it costs between AED 3 and AED 7.50 on a Silver nol card, as checked 13 Nov 2026. Expo 2020 the exhibition is over. Most country pavilions are closed, and what is open now is a smaller set of pavilions plus the free grounds, Al Wasl Plaza and the Surreal water feature. This guide gives you the station, the time and the fare from the airport, Downtown and the Marina, then what is open and what it costs, so you can decide whether the long ride is worth it.

The answer in one table: station, time and fare from where you start

The trip to Expo City takes between about 3 minutes and about 75 minutes, and costs between AED 3 and AED 7.50 on a Silver card, depending on where you start. Every trip ends at the same place: Expo 2020 station, the terminus of the Route 2020 branch. The table below gives the trip from the six starting points readers use most. Times are estimates at about 2 to 3 minutes a stop, and fares were checked 13 Nov 2026. If your starting station is not in the table, use our Route Planner to price your own trip.

From	Stops	Time	Silver fare
Airport Terminal 3	28	About 70 minutes	AED 7.50
Airport Terminal 1	27	About 68 minutes	AED 7.50
Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall	16	About 40 minutes	AED 7.50
Sobha Realty (Marina)	8	About 20 minutes	AED 5
Mall of the Emirates	12	About 30 minutes	AED 5
Dubai Investment Park	1	About 3 minutes	AED 3

One rule runs through the whole table: you must board the train towards Expo 2020, not the train towards Life Pharmacy, because the Red Line splits at National Paints. The next sections give each trip in full.

Which station: Expo 2020, and why the name confuses people

The station is called Expo 2020, and that name is the first thing that confuses visitors. The site is called Expo City Dubai, so many guides call the station Expo City station, and readers look for that name on the map and do not find it. On RTA signs, on the RTA map and on the station itself, the name is Expo 2020, with the code R76. It is the same station under both names: there is no separate Expo City station, and no second stop serves the site.

Name you may see	What it means
Expo 2020	The RTA name, on signs and maps, code R76
Expo City station	What some guides call it, the same station
R76	The station code on RTA timetables

Expo 2020 is the terminus of the Route 2020 branch, so every train that arrives there ends its journey, and every train that leaves heads back towards Centrepoint. The station sits in Zone 1, which is why trips from the Marina cost only AED 5 on Silver even though the ride feels long. See our All Stations page for the full list of stations and zones.

The Route 2020 branch: the split at National Paints

The Red Line splits at National Paints, and only one branch goes to Expo City. Route 2020 is not a separate line. It is a branch of the Red Line, about 15 km long, that leaves the main line at National Paints, the station that used to be called Jebel Ali. From National Paints, one branch runs to Life Pharmacy and the other runs to Expo 2020. In peak hours a train runs every 8 minutes on each branch, so you will not wait long, but you must board the right one.

Branch station, in order	Zone
The Gardens	Zone 2
Discovery Gardens	Zone 2
Al Furjan	Zone 2
Jumeirah Golf Estates	Zone to confirm
Dubai Investment Park	Zone 1
Expo 2020	Zone 1

Check the destination board on the platform before you board: it shows Expo 2020 or Life Pharmacy. If you board the Life Pharmacy train by mistake, get off at National Paints and change there, because the two branches share the track up to that station. For any trip that ends before the split, either train works, so take the first one that arrives. Our Red Line Stations page lists the whole line in order.

From the airport: Terminal 3 and Terminal 1 to Expo City

From Airport Terminal 3, the trip to Expo City is 28 stops and about 70 minutes. Both airport terminals have their own Metro station on the Red Line, and the trip is the same from either one, with Terminal 1 one stop closer. Buy or top up a nol card at the station before you board, and keep at least AED 7.50 on it, because the trip crosses four zones and costs AED 7.50 on Silver, as checked 13 Nov 2026.

1. At Terminal 3, follow the signs to the Airport Terminal 3 station. At Terminal 1, use the Airport Terminal 1 station.
2. Board a Red Line train towards Expo 2020. If the board shows Life Pharmacy, wait for the next train.
3. Stay on through Downtown, the Marina and National Paints, then through the six branch stations to the terminus.
4. Get off at Expo 2020 and follow the signs to Exit 1 for Al Wasl Plaza.

From	Stops	Time	Silver fare
Airport Terminal 3	28	About 70 minutes	AED 7.50
Airport Terminal 1	27	About 68 minutes	AED 7.50

Terminal 2 has no Metro station, so if you land there, take a bus or taxi to Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 first, then the Metro. The last train home from Expo 2020 leaves at 10:44 pm on Monday to Thursday and Saturday, so an evening event needs a plan for the return, which the timings section below covers. See our Dubai Airport by Metro guide for the full airport trip.

From Downtown: Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall to Expo City

From Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall, the trip to Expo City is 16 stops and about 40 minutes. This is the most common city trip to Expo City, and it is a straight ride with one decision: the branch train. Board at Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station on the Red Line, in Zone 6, and take the train towards Expo 2020. The trip crosses Zones 6, 2 and 1, so it costs AED 7.50 on Silver, as checked 13 Nov 2026.

1. Enter Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station and board a Red Line train towards Expo 2020.
2. Ride 16 stops: through Business Bay, the Marina stations and National Paints, then the six branch stations.
3. Get off at Expo 2020, the terminus, and follow the signs to Exit 1.

From	Stops	Time	Silver fare
Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall	16	About 40 minutes	AED 7.50

For the return, the last train towards Expo 2020 leaves Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall at 11:18 pm on Monday to Thursday and Saturday, and the last train home from Expo 2020 leaves at 10:44 pm, so leave Al Wasl Plaza in good time. Our Route Planner prices the trip from any starting station.

From the Marina and the Mall of the Emirates: the short trip

From the Marina, the trip to Expo City is short: 8 stops from Sobha Realty and about 20 minutes. If you stay in the Marina, Expo City is a half day out, not a long haul. The trip crosses only Zones 2 and 1, so it costs AED 5 on Silver from every Marina starting point, as checked 13 Nov 2026.

From	Stops	Time	Silver fare
Sobha Realty	8	About 20 minutes	AED 5
DMCC	7	About 18 minutes	AED 5
Mall of the Emirates	12	About 30 minutes	AED 5
Ibn Battuta	7	About 18 minutes	AED 5

From Ibn Battuta, ride one stop back to National Paints and change to the Expo 2020 branch, because Ibn Battuta sits on the Life Pharmacy branch. From the other three stations, board the train towards Expo 2020 and stay on to the terminus. The return is just as short, and the last train home from Expo 2020 leaves at 10:44 pm. See our Dubai Metro to Dubai Marina guide for the Marina trip in the other direction.

Fares: what the trip costs on every card

Every trip to Expo City costs AED 3, AED 5 or AED 7.50 on a Silver nol card, depending on the zones you cross. The fare is set by the number of zones your trip touches, not by the number of stops, so a long ride inside two zones costs less than a short ride across four. Expo 2020 station sits in Zone 1, so trips from Zone 2 cost AED 5 and trips from Zones 5 and 6 cost AED 7.50. All fares below were checked 13 Nov 2026.

From	Zones crossed	Silver	Gold	Red Ticket Regular	QR single Regular
Airport Terminal 3	5, 6, 2, 1	AED 7.50	AED 15	AED 8.50	AED 10.50
Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall	6, 2, 1	AED 7.50	AED 15	AED 8.50	AED 10.50
Sobha Realty	2, 1	AED 5	AED 10	AED 6	AED 8
Dubai Investment Park	1	AED 3	AED 6	AED 4	AED 6

Keep at least AED 7.50 on a Silver or Gold card before you travel, and AED 3.50 on a Blue concession card. Children aged 5 and under travel free. A QR day pass costs AED 22 for Regular and AED 42 for Gold, including an AED 2 fee per transaction, and it covers the Metro, the Tram and RTA buses. No daily fare cap is published on the RTA Nol Fares page, so do not plan around one. See our Fares Hub for the full tables, and our QR Tickets guide if you want to travel without a nol card.

Timings: first train, last train, and the evening problem

The last train home from Expo 2020 leaves at 10:44 pm on Monday to Thursday and Saturday, so plan the evening around it. Expo City comes alive in the evening, when the dome show starts after sunset, but the Metro does not run all night, and the last train home leaves earlier than most visitors expect. The pavilions close at 6:00 pm, so an evening visit is mostly the free grounds and the dome, and you still need to leave in time for the 10:44 pm train.

Direction	Last train
From Expo 2020 towards Centrepoint	10:44 pm
From Centrepoint towards Expo 2020	10:46 pm
From Airport Terminal 3 towards Expo 2020	10:52 pm
From Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall towards Expo 2020	11:18 pm
From Sobha Realty towards Expo 2020	11:42 pm

First train is 5:00 am Monday to Saturday and 8:00 am on Sunday, and service ends at midnight except Friday, when it ends at 1:00 am. On Sunday, last trains run within a few minutes of the weekday times. The last train times above come from our Timings page, which rests on two agreeing readings of the RTA timetable. Check the S’hail app on the day, because event nights can change the timetable.

At the station: exits, the walk in, and buses to Al Maktoum Airport

Expo 2020 station has two exits, and both walk straight into Expo City. The station sits inside the Expo City site, so there is no long walk and no second transfer. Follow the signs from the platform, and choose your exit by where you are going.

Exit	Where it leads	Walk
Exit 1	Expo City main entrance and Al Wasl Plaza, by pedestrian walkway	About 5 minutes
Exit 2	Dubai Exhibition Centre and bus connections	About 4 minutes

From the station you can also catch a bus onward. The F55 feeder bus runs between Expo 2020 station and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), from 5:30 am to 11:30 pm, about every 15 to 25 minutes, and the DS1 bus runs to Dubai South. The F55 fare is listed as AED 7.50 if you board it on its own, and free if you transfer from the Metro within 30 minutes of tapping out, so check the S’hail app for the current timetable before you rely on it. The station has no Park and Ride: the nearest is at Life Pharmacy station, on the other branch. Our station post for Expo 2020 covers the station in more detail.

The station sits in a new district, so the useful places around it are spread out. The table below lists what is near, and how to reach each place from the platform.

Place	What it is	How to reach it from the station
Dubai Exhibition Centre	Exhibition and event halls	Exit 2, about 4 minutes on foot, on Boulevard 2020
Al Wasl Plaza	The domed heart of Expo City	Exit 1, about 5 minutes on foot
Rove Expo City	Hotel, the only hotel inside Expo City	Horizon Avenue, about 5 to 8 minutes on foot
Cheval Maison, Expo City Dubai	Apartment-style hotel	Inside Expo City, on Al Wasl Avenue
Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC)	Dubai’s second airport	F55 bus from the station, on Emirates Road
Aloft Dubai South	Hotel at the airport, in Aviation City	F55 bus to DWC, then the hotel shuttle
Holiday Inn Dubai Al-Maktoum Airport	Hotel in Aviation City, about 5 minutes by car from DWC	F55 bus to DWC, then a taxi
Premier Inn Dubai Investments Park	Budget hotel by Dubai Investment Park station	One Metro stop back, on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, about 6 minutes on foot from that station
Dubai Investment Park station	The next station back towards the city, one stop away	One stop on the Metro, for the DIP hotels and offices

What is open at Expo City now, and what it costs

Expo City Dubai is not the Expo 2020 exhibition any more: the grounds are free and open, and three pavilions sell tickets. After the exhibition closed, Expo City kept the site and turned it into a permanent district, with housing, offices, parks and a small set of attractions. Most country pavilions are closed, and some are being dismantled for new homes, so do not arrive expecting the full world fair. What is open is worth the trip for an evening, and the grounds themselves cost nothing.

Attraction	What it is	Hours	Ticket as listed
Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion	Walking trails under the ocean and through the forest, plus a children’s play area	10:00 am to 6:00 pm, last entry 5:15 pm	AED 100 adult, AED 80 child aged 4 and over, as listed Sep 2026
Alif, the Mobility Pavilion	The history of movement, from ancient trade routes to the Emirates Mars Mission	10:00 am to 6:00 pm	Individual pavilion pass from AED 60, as listed Nov 2026
Vision Dubai Pavilion	The story of Dubai, from desert to modern city	10:00 am to 6:00 pm	AED 75 adult, children 12 and under free, as listed Sep 2026
Garden in the Sky	Rotating observation tower with views over the site	2:00 pm to 10:00 pm, last entry 9:45 pm	Paid ride, price not verified: check on the day

The Attractions Pass covers the three pavilions in one ticket, and some sellers list it from AED 60 while others list it at AED 160, so the pass price is part of the same conflict: check the official site before you buy. The Women’s Pavilion, Mission Possible and the Expo 2020 Museum appear in pass listings, but we could not verify them as open on their own, so do not plan a visit around them. Allow about two hours for Terra, and plan 3 to 5 hours for the whole visit.

What is free: Al Wasl Plaza, Surreal and the grounds

The best of Expo City costs nothing: Al Wasl Plaza, the Surreal water feature and the grounds are all free. You can have a full visit without buying a pavilion ticket. The public areas are open 24 hours, so an evening visit costs only the Metro fare.

• Al Wasl Plaza: the heart of the site, under a 67.5 metre steel trellis dome, the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface, with a garden and cafes inside.
• The dome show: a light and sound show projected onto the dome in the evenings, after sunset.
• Surreal: a water feature where water cascades down giant walls to music, seems to flow upwards, and bursts into flames at the centre. It runs 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, and it is free.
• Parks and paths: 45,000 square metres of parks and gardens, 10 km of cycle paths and a 5 km running track, with bikes and e-scooters to hire on site.
• The grounds: open 24 hours, with playgrounds and fountains between the pavilions.

The Surreal show is occasionally closed for maintenance or private events, so check the official site if you are coming for it. The dome show does not run every night, so the events calendar on expocitydubai.com is the place to check before you travel.

Plan the visit: when to arrive and how long to stay

Arrive in the afternoon and stay into the evening, because the pavilions close at 6:00 pm and the dome show starts after sunset. A morning visit wastes the trip: the grounds are empty and hot in the day. Plan for a half day, about 3 to 5 hours, and let the evening carry the visit.

• About 3:00 pm: arrive, and start with Terra or Alif while the pavilions are open.
• About 5:00 pm: finish the pavilions before the 5:15 pm last entry, then walk the grounds.
• About 6:00 pm: dinner at one of the cafes around Al Wasl Plaza. Food and drinks cost more here than in the city, so expect to pay a little extra.
• After sunset: watch the dome show at Al Wasl Plaza and the Surreal water feature.
• About 10:15 pm: leave for the station, in time for the 10:44 pm last train home.

Yellow buggy taxis run around the grounds from AED 5 per person per ride, card only, and they save a long walk on a hot day. If you are coming for a concert, festival or exhibition at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, check the event time first, because that is the best reason to make the trip, and the grounds are quiet without one.

Common mistakes, and how to avoid them

Most Expo City trips go wrong in the same few ways, and all of them are easy to avoid.

• Boarding the Life Pharmacy train. The Red Line splits at National Paints, and the Life Pharmacy train does not go to Expo City. Fix: read the destination board and board only the train towards Expo 2020.
• Searching for Expo City station. The station is called Expo 2020 on RTA signs and maps, and some guides call it Expo City station. Fix: look for Expo 2020, code R76, the terminus of the Route 2020 branch.
• Expecting the full exhibition. Expo 2020 is over, and most country pavilions are closed. Fix: plan around the three open pavilions and the free grounds, and check the events calendar.
• Trusting one ticket price. Pavilion prices disagree across sellers, from AED 60 to AED 160 for a pass. Fix: check expocitydubai.com on the day, and buy from the official site where you can.
• Missing the last train. The last train home from Expo 2020 leaves at 10:44 pm, and the dome show runs late. Fix: leave Al Wasl Plaza by about 10:15 pm, or plan a taxi home.

Use our Route Planner to price and time the trip from your own starting station before you leave.

Frequently asked questions

The answers below use the same facts as the sections above, checked 13 Nov 2026. Check expocitydubai.com on the day you travel.