A spokesperson from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirmed to Khaleej Times that there was "a slight delay in the service due to a technical fault from Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) station to UAE Exchange. All stations (were) served by a metro service team".
No further detail on the cause of the technical failure was provided, but the RTA apologised to the commuters and announced at around noon through its official Twitter account that services had returned to normal.
"We apologise to ?#DubaiMetro commuters along the Rashidiya and Jebel Ali direction, specifically between Jumeirah Lakes Towers and UAE Exchange stations, as a result of a technical fault that is currently being resolved," the RTA tweeted.
"RTA thanks the Dubai Metro users for their cooperation with the operation team at the station and wishes them a pleasant journey onwards," it added.
Many residents reported going to work and school late and also took to Twitter to voice their dissatisfaction. Some residents also warned fellow commuters to avoid the Metro on Monday morning.
"Due to major delays kindly avoid the ?#DubaiMetro today," Sonia Khiara tweeted. She accompanied her tweet with a photo and added: "It's really crowded and everyone is stranded. This is ?#Burjuman since 7.30am.
Passengers gathered in huge numbers at various Metro stations. "Been stuck in the Metro for a good hour now, I have midterms and I'm late," tweeted Dubai resident ?@letmefangurl.
"Normally takes me 45 minutes to reach office (but) today it's been 3 hours and I'm still not there," Shivam Manghnani? posted on his Twitter handle, ?@shivamLM.
But Dubai residents also praised RTA for its quick reaction and repair work.
"Thanks ?@RTA_Dubai for excellent crisis management in today's technical glitch. I could reach office on time," Kamal Hassan? (?@kamalhassan14) tweeted.
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- RTA (@RTA_Dubai) November 6, 2017
- RTA (@RTA_Dubai) November 6, 2017
- RTA (@RTA_Dubai) November 6, 2017
- RTA (@RTA_Dubai) November 6, 2017
- Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) November 6, 2017
- Christy Kunjumon (@christykunjumon) November 6, 2017
- jonaxx boys' wifey (@letmefangurl) November 6, 2017
- Divy Pandey (@unodibs) November 6, 2017
Train from Rashidiya terminating then turning back. No signs, no announcements #dubaimetro
- Mïchelle (@misharelli) November 6, 2017
- Maru Ursua (@MsMaru13) November 6, 2017
- Phos Graphi (@Phosgraphi) November 6, 2017
- Phos Graphi (@Phosgraphi) November 6, 2017