Being built or tested · Dubai

Dubai Loop

On board: Driver at first
Being builtChecked

The Dubai Loop is a network of small tunnels in central Dubai where Tesla cars carry riders between stations. RTA signed The Boring Company to build phase 1 on 3 Feb 2026: 6.4 km and 4 stations from DIFC to Dubai Mall, about AED 565 million and about 13,000 riders a day. The full network is up to 22.2 km with 19 stations from Dubai World Trade Centre to Business Bay. Concrete segments are being cast and the boring machine was being assembled on 30 Sep 2026. No report says tunnelling has started.

This page covers the Tesla tunnel network that RTA and The Boring Company are building in central Dubai.

Illustration of a Dubai Loop surface station: a swept white canopy over white Tesla Model Y cars, with an arched tunnel entrance
Illustration based on RTA's design renders of a Dubai Loop surface station. The built stations may differ.
Cutaway illustration of a Dubai Loop tunnel under a city street, with a white Tesla inside
Illustration, not to scale. Phase 1 tunnels are 3.6 m across inside.
6.4 kmphase 1, 4 stations
100electric cars in phase 1
13,000riders a day, phase 1
3 minDIFC to Dubai Mall, from about 20
2028expected opening (press report)

Route map

The map loads as you scroll to it.

Loop lines and stations are our trace of RTA's video map (Feb 2026); station spots could be off by up to about 300 m. Dotted magenta lines show the direction of later phases only. Metro tracks are from OpenStreetMap. Traced by PlaidCars from official maps, approximate.

Key facts

Phase 1 length6.4 km mediaoffice.ae
Phase 1 stations4 stations, DIFC to Dubai Mall. The RTA release names none. mediaoffice.ae
Phase 1 station namesDIFC 2, ICD Brookfield Place, Zabeel Dubai Mall Parking, Burj Khalifa thenationalnews.com guest.meed.com
Phase 1 costAbout AED 565 million (RTA). Boring Co: US$154 million. Khaleej Times and TradeArabia: about AED 600 million. mediaoffice.ae boringcompany.com khaleejtimes.com
Phase 1 ridersAbout 13,000 passengers a day mediaoffice.ae
Phase 1 build timeAbout one year after design is done (RTA). "Within one to two years" (Mattar Al Tayer, Gulf News). About two years (TradeArabia, Jul 2026). mediaoffice.ae gulfnews.com tradearabia.com
Full network lengthUp to 22.2 km (RTA). Other figures: 22 km (MEED, The National), 22.5 km (Boring Co), 24 km (Khaleej Times, TradeArabia). mediaoffice.ae boringcompany.com tradearabia.com
Full network stations19 stations. Only the 4 phase 1 names are public. mediaoffice.ae
Full network areasDubai World Trade Centre and the financial district to Business Bay mediaoffice.ae boringcompany.com
Full network costAbout AED 2 billion (RTA). Boring Co: US$545 million. Khaleej Times: AED 2.5 billion. mediaoffice.ae boringcompany.com khaleejtimes.com
Full network capacityAbout 30,000 passengers a day (RTA: "total capacity") mediaoffice.ae
Full network build timeAbout three years mediaoffice.ae boringcompany.com
Tunnel size3.6 m across (RTA). The exhibit board at the World Governments Summit says 3.66 m. mediaoffice.ae cdn.jwplayer.com
Tunnel layoutKhaleej Times describes "one-directional underground tunnels", with stations both above and below ground. Gulf News: "surface and tunnel stations". khaleejtimes.com gulfnews.com
Vehicles100 electric vehicles in phase 1. "The Boring Company will be operating Teslas" (Hamad Al Shehhi, RTA, in the RTA video). cdn.jwplayer.com thenationalnews.com
Driver or driverless"At the beginning, there will be a driver. And then later stages will move to more advanced and driverless systems" (Al Shehhi, RTA video). Parsons (May 2026): fully self-driving "very soon after the system opens". cdn.jwplayer.com thenationalnews.com
Travel timeDIFC to Dubai Mall cut from about 20 minutes to about 3 thenationalnews.com
Trips and capacityNo trips-per-hour figure for the contract. The Feb 2025 study MoU spoke of "over 20,000 passengers per hour" for a 17 km, 11-station pilot. mediaoffice.ae
FareNot set. "Fares will be announced in later stages. It will be a competitive fare" (Al Shehhi, RTA video). cdn.jwplayer.com khaleejtimes.com
Cost per kmExcavation about AED 70 million per km, against AED 125 million for usual tunnelling (Mattar Al Tayer). This is digging cost only; RTA's phase 1 and full-network totals work out to about AED 88 to 90 million per km. khaleejtimes.com
Builder and operatorThe Boring Company builds; Al Shehhi says it will also operate the cars. Signed by Mattar Al Tayer (RTA) and James Fitzgerald (Boring Co). Boring Co president: Steve Davis. mediaoffice.ae cdn.jwplayer.com
Design supportParsons holds a nine-month contract from The Boring Company to support design and construction thenationalnews.com
PermitsAbout 48 permits and no-objection certificates from about 10 bodies boringcompany.com
Tunnel liningAbout 25,000 precast segments of about 1,800 kg (Boring Co: about 4,000 lb, the same weight), about 45,000 tonnes in all, cast at the Boring Co precast plant in Dubai tradearabia.com boringcompany.com
Boring machinesBoring Co Prufrock machines, watched and run from its operations centre in Bastrop, Texas tradearabia.com
Construction statusSegment casting and boring machine assembly under way. The stated goal is still the Feb 2026 one: start tunnelling in the second half of 2026 (Gulf News restated it on 30 Sep; no new date given). No report of tunnelling found by 9 Oct 2026. gulfnews.com
OpeningExpected in 2028 (The National, Sep 2026). Parsons in May 2026: "operating in two years". thenationalnews.com

Vehicles and how to spot them

Tesla cars on Dubai Loop Tesla electric cars run by The Boring Company; 100 in phase 1

Not in service yet. The RTA video shows white Tesla crossovers (they look like Model Y) with Dubai plates in tunnels and in a station hall with numbered bays and escalators. A driver will be on board at first.

Not yet confirmed cdn.jwplayer.com

Walks to the Metro and buses

  • 530 m
    Burj Khalifa station to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro (Red Line)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 510 m
    Burj Khalifa station to Dubai Mall Metro Bus Stop Landside
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 560 m
    Burj Khalifa station to The Dubai Mall bus stop (OSM lists routes 27, 28, 29, 50, 81, F13, X22)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 310 m
    Zabeel Dubai Mall Parking station to The Dubai Mall bus stop (OSM lists routes 27, 28, 29, 50, 81, F13, X22)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 1,350 m
    Zabeel Dubai Mall Parking station to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro (Red Line)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 510 m
    ICD Brookfield Place station to Financial Centre Metro (Red Line)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 670 m
    ICD Brookfield Place station to Emirates Towers Metro (Red Line)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 530 m
    ICD Brookfield Place station to Emirates Tower Metro Bus Stop Landside
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 590 m
    ICD Brookfield Place station to Financial Center Metro Bus Stop Seaside
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 610 m
    DIFC 2 station to Emirates Towers Metro (Red Line)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 1,000 m
    DIFC 2 station to World Trade Centre Metro (Red Line)
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.
  • 670 m
    DIFC 2 station to Emirates Tower Metro Bus Stop Landside
    Straight line from our approximate station point; the real walk is longer.

Traced by PlaidCars from official maps, approximate.

Timeline

  • RTA and The Boring Company sign an MoU at the World Governments Summit to study a 17 km Loop with 11 stations and over 20,000 passengers per hour. Signed by Mattar Al Tayer and John Hering.
    mediaoffice.ae
  • Dubai launches the AED 100 billion DIFC Zabeel District, the second phase of DIFC, which includes the restored Zabeel Stables
    gulfnews.com
  • DIFC launches The Residences in Zabeel District, "aligned with future city infrastructure, including connectivity to the Dubai Loop"
    zawya.com
  • RTA and The Boring Company sign the phase 1 contract: 6.4 km, 4 stations, about AED 565 million. Full network up to 22.2 km and 19 stations. Plan changed from the 17 km, 11-station study.
    mediaoffice.ae
  • Boring Co says tunnelling will begin in the second half of 2026
    boringcompany.com
  • RTA video names the first four stations and shows the phase 1 route map, 100 cars, drivers at first, and fares to come later
    cdn.jwplayer.com thenationalnews.com
  • Parsons gets a nine-month contract to support design; work "due to get under way this year"
    thenationalnews.com
  • Date revised: Parsons says construction should start "in about nine months" (about Feb 2027) and the line be operating "in two years". Earlier plan: tunnelling from the second half of 2026.
    thenationalnews.com
  • Boring Co starts casting tunnel segments at its Dubai precast plant
    tradearabia.com
  • RTA says it is "continuing to advance the Dubai Loop project"
    mediaoffice.ae
  • Date revised: The National reports the Loop is "expected to open in 2028". Earlier: "within one to two years" from Feb 2026.
    thenationalnews.com
  • Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed meets Boring Co president Steve Davis; boring machine assembly and segment casting under way. Gulf News (30 Sep) repeats the goal of tunnelling in the second half of 2026
    gulfnews.com
  • End of the second half of 2026, the stated window for tunnelling to start
    boringcompany.com gulfnews.com

Milestones

  • RTA and Boring Company sign Dubai Loop study
    Delivered tunnellingjournal.com
  • Dubai Loop contract signed
    Delivered guest.meed.com
  • Parsons joins the Dubai Loop
    Delivered thenationalnews.com
  • Tunnel segment work starts
    Delivered khaleejtimes.com
  • Boring Company raises US$3bn in UAE-led round
    Delivered thenationalnews.com
  • Tunnel boring machine being assembled
    In progress gulfnews.com
  • Dubai Loop tunnelling begins
    In progress · H2 2026 (RTA and Boring Co, Feb 2026; repeated by Gulf News, 30 Sep 2026) boringcompany.com
  • Dubai Loop phase 1 opens
    Date revised · 2028 (The National, Sep 2026) gulfnews.com
  • Full Dubai Loop
    Announced · about 3 years from Feb 2026 boringcompany.com

Still open

  • Where are the four station entrances, and which stations are on the surface and which underground?
  • Where is the fenced plot Parsons named as the tunnel access and launch site, and where is the Boring Co precast plant?
  • Has tunnelling started? The stated goal is the second half of 2026.
  • Is 6.4 km the route length, or the sum of two one-way tunnels on a route of about 3 km?
  • Does DIFC 2 mean the Zabeel District site? Our point rests on the RTA video map and DIFC's Loop link claim.
  • Names and sites of the other 15 stations. Does the full network reach Business Bay Metro?
  • Fares, hours and booking method.
  • Who said 2028, and is it phase 1 or the full network?

More

All of Dubai Autonomy

Each fact names its source and the date it was true. Facts we have not checked on the source stay off this page until we do.

Pictures are PlaidCars illustrations made with an AI image model from maker photos and RTA renders. They show what each vehicle and place looks like; they are not photos and not exact.

Listing data referenced from third-party UAE marketplaces · Sources & data policy

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