Commuters using the multi-storey car park at Centrepoint Metro Station will need to take a different route to reach the platforms. The Roads and Transport Authority has shut the footbridge that previously connected the parking structure to the station, citing the progress of works tied to the Dubai Metro Blue Line.
A replacement walkway has been opened on Level G, where the authority says staff have arranged a secured path leading commuters toward the Red Line entrance. Signage placed throughout the area directs foot traffic along the new route, which RTA describes as built to keep access safe and continuous while building activity carries on nearby.
The footbridge closure is one small piece of a far larger undertaking. Dubai is moving ahead with the Blue Line, a project that will add 14 stations spread over two branches and tie the city’s eastern and northern districts more closely to Dubai International Airport and other destinations. A separate Gold Line expansion is also in the works, with both expected to widen the reach of the rail network across residential and business zones.
The longer of the two branches runs from Al Jaddaf and counts 10 stations: Creek Interchange at Al Jaddaf, which links to the Green Line, followed by Dubai Festival City, Dubai Creek Harbour, Ras Al Khor, the three International City stops, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Academic City, and the Academic City terminus. The Dubai Creek Harbour stop, named for Emaar Properties, is set to stand 74 metres tall, which would make it the tallest metro station anywhere in the world.
The shorter branch starts at Centrepoint in Al Rashidiya and runs through Mirdif, Al Warqa, and on to International City 1. The Centrepoint interchange will connect to the Red Line, and the two branches will come together at International City 1, creating a junction within the broader system.
Travellers stand to gain quicker airport trips once the line opens, with journeys from several communities projected to take roughly 20 minutes. How exactly the line will reach the airport remains unsettled, as RTA has yet to say whether passengers will use the current Red Line airport stations or a newly built terminal stop of its own.
