Updated 25 September 2026: ONPASSIVE (R29) became Garmin Metro Station on 7 September 2026 — the first global brand to buy naming rights on the network. We have added it to the table and corrected the date ONPASSIVE took over from Al Safa to January 2023, per the RTA’s announcement at the time.
Older station names can make otherwise useful directions confusing. This lookup connects former names with present-day stations; it is not an exhaustive chronology. Match the station code and line as well as the name, because some names have been used for different stations.
Old-name lookup
| Station today | Code | Previously |
|---|---|---|
| BurJuman | R19/G26 | Khalid Bin Al Waleed |
| ADCB | R20 | Al Karama |
| Sharaf DG | G25 | Al Fahidi |
| UAE Exchange (now Life Pharmacy) | R42 | Jebel Ali |
| Jabal Ali (now National Paints) | R38 | Nakheel Harbour & Tower |
| Max | R21 | Al Jafiliya |
| Al Safa (now Garmin) | R29 | Noor Bank / Noor Islamic Bank |
| Umm Al Sheif (now Equiti) | R31 | FAB / First Gulf Bank |
| Mashreq (now InsuranceMarket.ae) | R33 | Sharaf DG |
| Al Khail (now Al Fardan Exchange) | R35 | Nakheel |
| DAMAC Properties (now Sobha Realty) | R36 | Dubai Marina |
| DMCC | R37 | Jumeirah Lakes Towers |
| Gold Souq | G22 | Palm Deira |
| Centrepoint | R11 | Al Rashidiya |
| City Centre Deira | R16 | Deira City Centre |
| ONPASSIVE (now Garmin) | R29 | Al Safa |
| e& | G11 | Etisalat |
| Sobha Realty | R36 | DAMAC Properties |
| Equiti | R31 | Umm Al Sheif |
| InsuranceMarket.ae | R33 | Mashreq |
| Al Garhoud | R15 | GGICO |
| Al Fardan Exchange | R35 | Al Khail |
| Life Pharmacy | R42 | UAE Exchange |
| National Paints | R38 | Jabal Ali |
| Garmin | R29 | ONPASSIVE |
The three renames that confuse everyone
1. The two Jebel Alis. The former Jebel Ali station is today’s Life Pharmacy, at the far end of the Red Line – it became UAE Exchange in 2015, then Life Pharmacy in May 2025. Meanwhile a completely different station – Nakheel Harbour & Tower – was renamed Jabal Ali in 2020, then became National Paints in 2025. Two different stations have carried the Jebel Ali name; neither carries it now.
2. The travelling Sharaf DG. From 2010 the Red Line’s Al Barsha station was called Sharaf DG. It later became Mashreq (now InsuranceMarket.ae) – and the Sharaf DG name moved to the Green Line’s old Al Fahidi station, where it lives today. If someone tells you “get off at Sharaf DG,” confirm which decade their knowledge is from.
3. Nakheel vs Nakheel Harbour & Tower. Two adjacent-sounding stations, which became Al Khail (now Al Fardan Exchange) and Jabal Ali (now National Paints) respectively. Check the line, code and current destination instead of treating these similar names as interchangeable.
Why Dubai does this
Station naming rights are a straightforward funding mechanism: brands pay multi-year fees (the National Paints deal, for example, runs ten years) that offset network operating costs. The RTA pairs each commercial rename with a full signage, map, app and announcement update cycle – the July-October 2025 cycle for National Paints was followed by the September-November 2026 cycle for Garmin, the latest. Garmin’s deal, like National Paints’, runs ten years. The practical downside lands on riders and, frankly, on the internet: most guides never catch up. Our station pages list current and documented former names to help interpret older directions.
Dates that can be checked directly
- RTA: JLT became DMCC on 1 September 2018.
- RTA: Sobha Realty naming announcement, 9 August 2021.
- Dubai Media Office: Al Fahidi to Sharaf DG and four other changes, 24 November 2020.
Correction, 26 September 2026: withdrew the earlier date column because it mixed incorrect dates with announcement and signage-change dates. In particular, DMCC was not a November 2020 rename and Sobha Realty was not a February 2023 rename. The latest Garmin update above is retained.