Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will start Metro trains at 3:00 a.m. and keep them running past midnight on Sunday to accommodate tens of thousands of participants and spectators at the annual Dubai Run 2025. The early start marks the longest single-day extension of rail service since Expo 2020 and is accompanied by a comprehensive traffic-management plan that temporarily closes sections of Sheikh Zayed Road and nearby feeder routes.
RTA officials expect inbound passenger volumes at key stations—particularly World Trade Centre, Financial Centre and Business Bay—to spike 170 per cent compared with a normal weekend morning. Additional staff and mobile ticket kiosks will be deployed to handle the surge, while 400 articulated buses stand by to shuttle runners from finish-line zones back to car-park hubs.
![Dubai extends Metro operating hours to 3 a.m. for Dubai Run, issues road-closure map]()
Salik toll gates along the affected corridor will be de-activated between 4:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to divert private vehicles to alternate highways. Advance signage has also been posted in Arabic, English and Mandarin to guide tourists unfamiliar with local detours. Hoteliers near Downtown Dubai say occupancy jumped 12 per cent week-on-week as international fitness tourists combine the run with sightseeing.
The operational tweaks provide a useful dry-run for mobility planners ahead of COP30 side events in early December, when similar crowd-control tactics will be required. Businesses with Sunday morning deliveries have been advised to reschedule or apply for special transit permits to avoid fines for entering restricted zones.
For global mobility managers moving staff into Dubai that weekend, the key takeaway is to factor in additional transit time from DXB to city hotels, as airport-bound traffic will share corridors with event shuttles until mid-morning.
RTA officials expect inbound passenger volumes at key stations—particularly World Trade Centre, Financial Centre and Business Bay—to spike 170 per cent compared with a normal weekend morning. Additional staff and mobile ticket kiosks will be deployed to handle the surge, while 400 articulated buses stand by to shuttle runners from finish-line zones back to car-park hubs.
Salik toll gates along the affected corridor will be de-activated between 4:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to divert private vehicles to alternate highways. Advance signage has also been posted in Arabic, English and Mandarin to guide tourists unfamiliar with local detours. Hoteliers near Downtown Dubai say occupancy jumped 12 per cent week-on-week as international fitness tourists combine the run with sightseeing.
The operational tweaks provide a useful dry-run for mobility planners ahead of COP30 side events in early December, when similar crowd-control tactics will be required. Businesses with Sunday morning deliveries have been advised to reschedule or apply for special transit permits to avoid fines for entering restricted zones.
For global mobility managers moving staff into Dubai that weekend, the key takeaway is to factor in additional transit time from DXB to city hotels, as airport-bound traffic will share corridors with event shuttles until mid-morning.
