Danube Metro Station Overview
Danube is the R41 station on the Dubai Metro Red Line, in Zone 1 on the Life Pharmacy branch. The station sits one stop south of Energy (R40) and one stop north of the branch terminus at Life Pharmacy (R42), deep in the Jebel Ali industrial belt.
The station opened in late 2012 as Jebel Ali Industrial, before being renamed Danube under a sponsor-naming deal the same month. Southbound travellers reach here by boarding a Life Pharmacy branded service from Centrepoint; an Expo 2020 branded service takes the other branch at National Paints and does not pass through Danube.
First and last train from Danube Station
These times come from the official RTA timetable. For the exact minute on the day you travel, the RTA S'hail app is the live source.
| Direction | First train | Last train |
|---|---|---|
| To Centrepoint | 5:04 AM daily | 11:55 PM (Mon to Wed, Sun) 11:53 PM (Thu, Sat) 12:58 AM (Fri) |
| To Life Pharmacy | 5:12 AM daily | 10:51 PM (Mon to Wed, Sun) 10:57 PM (Thu to Sat) |
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Danube Station opening hours and facilities
Danube station keeps the standard RTA opening hours, the same right across the network:
- Monday to Thursday: 5:00 AM to 12:00 AM
- Friday: 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM
- Saturday: 5:00 AM to 12:00 AM
- Sunday: 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM
Danube has the standard Dubai Metro facilities, confirmed in the official RTA passenger guide. The station is step-free, with lifts to all levels, tactile guidance paths, and dedicated wheelchair spaces on every train. Nol card machines and a ticket counter sit inside the concourse, alongside bilingual signage and information screens. Du Wi-Fi covers the network.
Every regular train carries three cabin types: Gold Class at one end, a Women and Children cabin with pink signage, and Standard cabins. Door pictograms on the platform show where each cabin stops. The station has at least one bus connection, dedicated Metro Police, CCTV throughout, and emergency call points on every platform and train.
Southbound services from the north have longer gaps between trains on this branch than on the trunk. Check the departure board as you tap in, because missing a train here can mean a wait of up to about seven minutes. For a tight connection to a flight from Al Maktoum International, use the planner before leaving home rather than assuming peak frequencies.
The first expat-owned Metro naming-rights deal
Danube Group’s name on this station marked a first for Dubai’s commercial-naming programme. Gulf News reported in November 2012 that the Jebel Ali Industrial station would open as Danube Station under a 10-year agreement, part of RTA’s Dubai Metro Stations Naming Rights Project. The deal was framed at the time as a milestone for the programme: Danube Group was the first expat-owned business to hold the rights to a Dubai Metro station name.
The station opened to passengers a short time after as the 28th Red Line stop. In practical terms, the swap from Jebel Ali Industrial to Danube made the station easier to find on bilingual signage, especially for travellers who recognised the Danube brand from building-materials shops across the Gulf. Older RTA maps and third-party guides still list the Jebel Ali Industrial name occasionally, so sign and app lag persists.
A Life Pharmacy branch stop for the industrial west
Danube’s catchment is the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) and the residential communities of Dubai South and Dubai World Central further west. The station handles the daily commute for workers, with the busiest flows outbound in the morning and inbound in the late afternoon. Off-peak and weekends are notably quiet.
For long-distance passengers, the station’s position in Zone 1 makes it one of the cheaper southern starting points for Red Line trips. The branch frequency is lower than the trunk during the day because only Life Pharmacy branded services call here, so plan around the published Wojhati timings for anything time-critical such as a flight or coach connection. Trains stop for about 20 to 30 seconds at each station, with no step up or down from the platform.
This station is one of the lower-fare starting points for a one-zone trip. Boarding at Danube and heading north to Ibn Battuta or Energy stays inside Zone 1 or crosses only one zone boundary, so trips to the Marina area work out at AED 3 to 5 on a Silver Nol card.
Fares from Danube Station
Fares depend on how many zones your trip crosses, not how many stations you pass. A Silver Nol card costs AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two zones, and AED 7.50 for three or more zones, per the RTA Nol fares page. A personal Blue Nol card pays the same as Silver. Gold Class costs double: AED 6, 10 or 15 across the same bands.
Without a Nol card, the Red ticket is a separate, higher tariff of AED 4, 6 or 8.50 by zone band, and the blank ticket costs AED 2 to buy. Children aged five and under travel free, and travel is free for People of Determination.
| Destination | Stops | Zones | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ibn Battuta | 2 | 2 | AED 5.00 |
| Mall of the Emirates | 9 | 2 | AED 5.00 |
| Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall | 13 | 3 | AED 7.50 |
| Expo 2020 | 9 | 3 | AED 7.50 |
| Airport Terminal 3 | 25 | 4 | AED 7.50 |
Metro Stations Before and After Danube Station
- Energy (R40): The stop after Danube on the Red Line going towards Centrepoint
- Life Pharmacy (R42): The stop after Danube on the Red Line going towards Life Pharmacy
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