Al Ras

Al Ras is where the metro sets you down in the heart of traditional Deira, the oldest trading quarter on this side of the Creek. The name means the headland, and the streets here have the feel of a market town that grew up around the water long before the skyscrapers arrived. Shopfronts spill onto the pavement, delivery carts weave between shoppers, and the smell of spices and oud drifts through the lanes.

Step out and within minutes you can be browsing the Perfume Souk, where rows of shops blend attars to order, or wandering the fragrant alleys of the Spice Souk nearby. Walk on towards the water and you reach the abra stations, where wooden water taxis have ferried people across to Bur Dubai for a few dirhams for as long as anyone can remember. It is one of the most rewarding places in the city to explore slowly on foot.

Station Overview

Al Ras Station opened in 2011 on the Dubai Metro's Green Line. It sits in Zone 5 of the NOL fare system. The Dubai Metro runs fully automated, driverless trains, and Al Ras is an underground station serving the tight streets of old Deira.

Lines and Connectivity

Al Ras is a Green Line station. One way the line continues to Gold Souq and on towards Etisalat, and the other way it dips under the Creek towards Al Ghubaiba and the Creek terminus. It is not an interchange, so for the Red Line you change at Union or BurJuman.

Station Layout and Structure

Al Ras is underground, with platforms below the streets and a concourse above holding gates, machines and staff. Facilities include toilets, ATMs, NOL top-up machines and a staffed service point. Gold Class carriages sit at the front of each train and a women and children carriage runs in the middle, clearly marked on the platform.

Accessibility

Al Ras has full step-free access, with lifts between street level, the concourse and the platforms. Tactile paving, audio announcements and platform screen doors are all provided, which helps when the surrounding lanes are thick with shoppers and hand carts.

Travel Tips

• Head towards the water for the abra stations if you want to cross the Creek to Bur Dubai the traditional way.
• The Perfume Souk and Spice Souk are both an easy walk, best browsed in the cooler evening hours.
• A NOL card costs AED 25 including AED 19 of credit and works on metro, bus, tram and marine transport.
• For the Red Line, change at Union or BurJuman.
• The metro runs Saturday to Wednesday 05:00-00:00, Thursday 05:00-01:00 and Friday 08:00-01:00.

Nearby Attractions

Perfume Souk - close to the station, a run of shops that blend attars and oud fragrances to order.

Spice Souk - a short walk away, narrow lanes heaped with saffron, dried limes, chillies and herbs.

Deira abra crossing - down by the water, where wooden water taxis carry passengers over the Creek to Bur Dubai for a few dirhams.

Timings and Best Time to Travel

Trains at Al Ras run Saturday to Wednesday 05:00-00:00, Thursday 05:00-01:00 and Friday 08:00-01:00. Weekday rush hours fall around 07:30-09:30 and 17:00-19:30. The souks and the Creekside are at their most pleasant in the late afternoon and evening, when the daytime heat eases and the markets fill up again.