The new rail service will start operation of around 44 trains out of 62 to run on the Red Line when the service is launched on 9 September 2009.

A total of 79 trains will be used on the Red and the Green Lines to carry around 27,000 passengers per hour per direction once the metro is fully operational in March next year.

A senior official at Dubai Metro told the press: “Initially, we will launch operations starting with the capacity of around 6,300 passengers per hour per direction with fewer trains on the track. All the stations are not yet ready but we hope to open 17 to 22 stations out of the total 29.”

The Dubai Metro project, which will become the world's lengthiest driverless scheme, is being completed in a record time of just 49 months. The metro track runs from Al Rashidiya Station to Jebel Ali Free Zone Station.