Does an Etihad Rail ticket cover the Dubai Metro?

An Etihad Rail ticket on its own covers the train only. What RTA calls the Combined QR Ticket is one QR code for the Etihad Rail journey and an optional nol 1-Day Pass. If you add the pass while booking the train, the same code is your train ticket and your ticket for the Dubai Metro, the Tram and public buses, but not intercity or seasonal buses.

You pay for the pass. It is an add-on, not part of the rail fare.

Etihad Rail’s Dubai Station connects to the Metro through a dedicated pedestrian bridge to Jumeirah Golf Estates Metro Station, so the change from train to Metro does not need a taxi or a bus.

What one QR code covers

The pass is RTA’s, so it works on RTA’s network in Dubai. RTA’s page says nothing about transport in the other cities on the line, and this page doesn’t either.

What the pass costs

RTA’s FAQ on the Combined QR Ticket does not print a separate price for the add-on. You can choose Regular or Gold. On the same RTA page, the fee table for its QR 1-Day Pass reads:

The Etihad Rail checkout shows the final amount before you pay. If it differs from this table, the checkout figure is the one you pay.

Gold here means the Metro’s Gold cabin, not a train class. RTA does not tie the pass class to the class you book on the train. Which Metro cabin you can ride in explains the cabins.

When the pass pays off

Compare it with buying single QR tickets one at a time. A single trip across all zones costs AED 8.5 plus the AED 2 fee, so AED 10.50 per ride.

• Two rides: AED 21, a little under the Regular pass at AED 22
• Three rides: AED 31.50, more than the pass

Shorter rides cost less than the all-zones fare, so the break-even point moves later. If the plan is just one Metro ride from the station to a hotel, the pass is the dearer option. If you will be moving around Dubai for the rest of the day, it is the simpler one.

A nol card you already carry still works on the Metro as usual. The pass is an alternative to it, not a requirement. For a stay of several days, a Silver nol card at AED 25 is the usual choice, because the pass ends at midnight. Which nol card to buy compares the cards.

A day trip that starts and ends in Dubai

The pass starts on your first scan at an RTA gate and ends at midnight. It can’t be moved to another day. A day trip out by train and back in the evening fits inside one pass, if both Metro legs are on the same date.

If you come back after midnight, or the next day, the evening ride needs another ticket.

Buying it

You can start in the nol Pay or S'hail app, under Etihad Rail Ticket, which hands you over to Etihad Rail's own booking platform. Etihad Rail also sells train tickets through the Etihad Rail app, its website and the ticket machines at the stations. When it opened, Etihad Rail announced fares from AED 39 in Comfort Class and AED 109 in Premium. That was a launch announcement. The app shows the fare for your date.

Changes and cancellations go through Etihad Rail Customer Service, under Etihad Rail's terms, not RTA.

Where this page stops

Passenger trains have run since 30 September 2026, linking Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah. Neither source gives a timetable, journey time, the stations outside Dubai, or the train fare rules beyond the launch fares. We leave those out rather than take them from press reports.

Where these figures come from

The Combined QR Ticket rules and the 1-Day Pass fees are on RTA’s QR Ticket service page. The start date, the cities, the launch fares, the ticket channels and the footbridge are in the Government of Dubai Media Office release of 28 September 2026 on the opening of the Dubai Station. The Silver card price is on RTA’s nol cards page. We read each page directly.