RTA Completes Largest Overhaul of Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems

Emirates 24/7

3 days ago

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), through its Rail Agency, has completed the second phase of a comprehensive overhaul of the ventilation and air conditioning systems at stations along the Red and Green Lines of the Dubai Metro. The project falls under RTA's Strategic Plan 2024–2030, covering key pillars such as passenger comfort, customer happiness, operational efficiency, and long-term asset sustainability, in line with RTA's vision as the Global Leader in Seamless and Sustainable Mobility.
This achievement marks another milestone in the joint commitment between RTA and Keolis-MHI to enhance service quality and ensure infrastructure readiness, particularly during Dubai's peak summer season.
The proactive project aims to extend the lifecycle of vital assets while ensuring consistent performance and long-term reliability of station cooling systems. In Phase 2, a total of 876 ventilation and air conditioning assets were overhauled across 14 stations and two car parks along the Red Line, with no impact on train operations. This phase builds on the successful completion of Phase 1, which covered 261 assets across 13 stations.
Passenger comfort and operational resilience are core pillars of RTA's maintenance strategy. The successful delivery of this phase has significantly improved cooling performance and reliability across the network, while ensuring uninterrupted metro service—a clear testament to the commitment and coordination of all maintenance teams involved.
The extensive works included the replacement and refurbishment of key components such as air handling units (AHUs), fan coil units (FCUs), chilled water pumps, extract fans, smoke extract fans, and pressurisation units. The project scope also encompassed tasks such as bearing and cooling coil replacement, deep cleaning and dynamic balancing—restoring all equipment to its original design performance.
The summer season presents the greatest challenge for any public transport system in the region, where trains arrive every few minutes, doors open every 2–4 minutes, and large volumes of hot air continuously enter station environments. This makes it essential for ventilation and cooling systems to operate at optimal capacity, maintaining a consistent internal temperature of 24 to 25°C across the network to ensure a comfortable journey for all passengers, regardless of external conditions.
The 10-month programme was meticulously scheduled to take place outside peak hours and during night shifts to ensure smooth station operations and a seamless passenger experience throughout the entire execution period.
Preparations are already underway for Phase 3, which will target the remaining 25% of public-area FCUs, in addition to the back-of-house and critical room AHUs across Red Line stations. Experimental and verification works for this phase began in mid-July 2025.
RTA is progressing with its Ventilation and Air Conditioning (VAC) Enhancement Project, which aims to explore opportunities for energy optimisation and a shift toward variable flow technology.
The success of the project is the result of close coordination between RTA's Rail Agency and Keolis-MHI, responsible for operating and maintaining the Dubai Metro, as well as operating the Dubai Tram. This collaboration reflects the strength of the strategic partnership in delivering world-class service standards across the Dubai Metro network.