Alstom's partners in the consortium include Turkish construction company Gülermak and Acciona, Spain.

The 15km line will branch off the existing Red Line at Nakheel Habour and Tower station, serving Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estates, and Dubai Investments Park as well as the Expo site. The project includes the construction of 11.8km of viaduct, 3.2km of tunnel, and seven stations, two of them underground.

Alstom's share of the contract includes electromechanical works and 50 driverless trains, 15 for Expo line services and 35 to provide additional capacity elsewhere on the network.

Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year and trials will begin at the end of 2019 with opening scheduled for May 20 2020, five months before the start of Expo 2020.

RTA says the line will have capacity to carry 23,000 passengers per direction per hour.