Doha Metro

The Doha Metro (Arabic: مترو الدوحة, romanized: Mitru ad-Dawha) is a rapid transit system in Doha, Qatar's capital city, which became operational on 8 May 2019.[2] It has three lines with an approximate overall length of 76 km (47 mi) and 37 stations. It is an integral component of the larger Qatar Rail network, which will include a long-distance rail for passengers and freight, linking Qatar to the GCC, and the Lusail LRT. Capable of reaching 100 km/h (62 mph), the Doha Metro has one of the fastest driverless trains in the world.[3]

Doha Metro
Overview
Owner Qatar Rail
Area servedAl Wakra, Doha, Lusail, Al Qassar, Education City
LocaleDoha
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines3
Number of stations37
HeadquartersDoha
WebsiteQatar Rail
Operation
Began operation8 May 2019 (8 May 2019)
Operator(s)RKH Qitarat (Hamad/Keolis-RATP Dev)[1]
Train length3
Headway2–5 minutes
Technical
System length
  • 76 km (47 mi) (operational)
  • 48.1 km (29.9 mi) (planned)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC third rail
Top speed107 km/h (66 mph)
System map

Al Riffa
Lusail Lusail LRT
Education City
Qatar University
Qatar National Library
Legtaifiya
Lusail LRT
Al Shaqab
Katara
Al Rayyan Al Qadeem
Al Qassar
Al Messila
DECC
Hamad Hospital
West Bay
The White Palace
Corniche
 Al Bidda
 Msheireb
Msheireb
Souq Waqif
Al Mansoura
National Museum
Bin Mahmoud
Ras Bu Abboud
Al Sadd
Al Doha Al Jadeda
Joaan
Umm Ghawailina
Al Sudan
Al Matar Al Qadeem
Al Waab
Oqba Ibn Nafie
Sport City
Hamad International
Airport Terminal 1
Hamad International Airport
Al Aziziyah
Free Zone
 Ras Bu Fontas
 Al Wakra
  Red line 
  Green line 
  Gold line 
Disabled access All stations are accessible
Logo in 2018

Doha Metro is operated and maintained for a duration of 20 years by RKH Qitarat, a joint venture formed by Hamad Group (51%) and French transit operators Keolis and RATP Dev (49%), on behalf of system owner Qatar Rail.[1][4]

History

In 2009, Qatari Diar and Deutsche Bahn signed a joint venture to develop a concept for a railway network in Qatar. In 2011, Qatar Rail became the sole owner of the project while Deutsche Bahn with its global wing DB International (since 2016, DB Engineering & Consulting) took over as main consultant and source for required railway experts.[5] In 2013, the construction of the Doha Metro officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Msheireb station.[6] Throughout early 2013, Qatar Rail released the D&B tenders and received submissions from various international firms to construct sections of Phase 1a, corresponding to the Red and Green Lines. In mid-May Salini Impregilo was awarded to manage the construction of the Red Line North segment, running from Msheireb to Al Khor North.[7] In June, it was revealed that QDVC and Porr were successful in their bids to lead the building of the Red Line South segment and Green Line, respectively.[8] In May 2014 a consortium of Larsen & Toubro, Aktor, Yapi Merkezi, STFA Group and Al Jaber Engineering was awarded to design and construct the Doha Metro Gold Line.[9] A total of 21 tunnel-boring machines from the German company Herrenknecht were planned for the tunnel construction of the Metro Phase 1.[10]

Lines

The Doha Metro consists of three lines opening in phases from 2019 to 2020,[11] with an eventual completion date of 2026.[12] The Red, Green and Gold Lines radiate out from a central interchange at Msheireb in downtown Doha.[12]

A view of the completed Al Wakrah metro station, part of the Red Line, in June 2019
Line Inaugural date Length
km		 Stations Termini Status
Red Line 8 May 2019 (Al Qassar to Al Wakra)

10 December 2019 (Hamad International Airport, Katara, Qatar University and Lusail)

 40 18 Lusail
Hamad International Airport
Al Wakra		 operating
Green Line 10 December 2019[13] 22 11 Al Riffa
Al Mansoura		 operating
Gold Line 21 November 2019[14] 14 11 Al Aziziya
Ras Abu Aboud		 operating
Blue Line ET: 2027 17.5 14 Hamad International Airport Terminal 2
West Bay QIC		 planned
Total 93 54

Segments

Doha Metro Phase 1 was implemented by multiple joint ventures involving local and international contractors. Qatar Rail has previously specified that consortiums looking to build different parts of the network should partner with a Qatari firm, which has led to companies such as Qatar Building Company, Galfar Al-Misnad Engineering, Al Darwish and HBK Contracting all picking up work alongside international bidders.[15]

  • Red Line North (Underground): The Red Line North starts from Msheireb station in the South to Al Khor in the North. Seven underground stations are proposed along this route up to Doha Golf Club, from where it will be at grade to reach Al Khor. A Joint Venture (JV) led by Salini Impregilo, South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction, and Galfar Al Misnad was chosen as the D&B contractor.[16]
  • Red Line South (Underground): The Red Line South extends from Msheireb in the North to Mesaieed in the South. It is planned to have six underground stations. The D&B JV contractors are Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC), GS Engineering & Construction, and Al Darwish Engineering.[17]
  • Red Line South (Elevated & at-grade): The Joint Venture led by Spain's FCC and comprising Turkey's Yuksel, Netherlands’ Archirodon and Qatar's Petroserv has been selected as the D&B contractor for the line. The scope of work involves full design and construction of the Red Line section along Al Wakra Highway. This is 5.8 km (3.6 mi) of elevated viaduct, 0.4 km (0.25 mi) of at-grade track, an "underpass structure" of about 1 km (0.62 mi) length and "grading" of the depot area measuring 250 acres. The value of the contract, awarded in March 2014, was $654 million and the project was to be completed in 31 months.[18]
  • Green Line (Underground, Elevated and At-grade): The Green Line, which also has all types of sections (underground, elevated and at-grade), extends from Msheireb in the East to Al Riffa in Doha West. The project's D&B contract for the Green line underground project has been given to a JV led by PORR Bau (UG-Lead partner), QD-Saudi Bin Laden Group (Elevated-Lead Partner) and Hamad Bin Khalid Contracting.[19]
  • Gold Line: The Gold Line connects nine underground stations. The D&B contractor is ALYSJ JV led by Greece's Ellaktor and comprising Larsen and Toubro (India), Yapı Merkezi (Turkey), STFA Group (Turkey) and Al Jaber Engineering (Qatar). The consortium won the contract with a bid of $4.4 billion in January 2015.[20]

Stations
Construction of the Red Line in February 2018

Doha Metro will have about 100 stations when the project is completed. This will include a major interchanges station built at Msheireb, hub for the Metro network and the interchange for Red, Green and Gold Lines.[12] Qatar Rail chose to integrate Qatari culture into the Metro by naming stations after historical towns and cities, each with its own story and background.[21]

Phase 1
Red Line (Coastal Line)

A North-South Line connecting the towns of Lusail, West Bay, Msheireb, Hamad International Airport and Al Wakra.

Green Line (Education Line)

The Green Line follows Al Rayyan Road connecting Education City with the Heart of Doha. Furthermore, it links to Umm Salal and the Industrial Area South.

Gold Line (Historic Line)

The Gold Line runs in an East-West direction and connects Airport City North via central Msheireb with Al Waab Street, Al Rayyan South and Salwa Road.

Most stations will offer free feeder buses to places near the stations. Standard tickets cost 2 QAR each for one way, whilst 'gold club' tickets cost 10 QAR each.

Phase 2

This will be updated when Qatar Rail has announced the stations for the next phase. This phase contains Blue Line. This would probably be announced in the end of 2020. This project is estimated to finish in 2025/6.

Design

The Doha Metro stations design was selected in October 2013 by the Emir of Qatar.[22] The design is called "Vaulted Spaces"; it is derived from historic Islamic architecture, using old Islamic architectural elements in a modern way. UNStudio, the company responsible for the metro stations design, highlighted the region's vernacular architecture; the design acts as a bridge between the country's past and future.[23] One of the key elements of the design is the exterior shape of the station; this uses bright, modern materials to simulate the interior of an oyster. The levels of the stations will be open to each other giving passengers at feeling of comfort, and concealing the lighting and ventilation in the shapes of the arches. The "Vaulted Spaces" design was selected out of a total of six proposals and master plans for the Doha Metro stations.

The specific trains used were designed by the Kinki Sharyo Industrial Design Office in collaboration with the German Design firm Tricon Design, to reflect the culture of Qatar. The Emir is known to have personally selected the exterior design of the trains, inspired by the shape of an Arabian horse.[24]

In May 2016, Consolidated Contractors (CCC) took over[25] the contract for the Msheireb and Education City stations, from a joint venture of Samsung C&T Corporation (S. Korea), Obrascon Huarte Lein (Spain), and Qatar Building Company.[26]

Technology

Rolling stock

The 75 three-car driverless trainsets for the metro system are supplied jointly by Japanese companies Mitsubishi Corporation and Kinki Sharyo.[27] The first four sets were delivered in August 2017.[28]

Signaling, telecommunication and security system

Thales of France will supply the train control signalling, telecommunication, a security system, an operations control center and an automatic fare collection system.[29]

Track and power supply

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will supply the track and power supply. The company will also supply the platform screen doors and tunnel ventilation and will be responsible with overall project management and system integration.[30]

Bored tunnels

The Metro network will cover the Greater Doha area and will include connections to town centers and main commercial and residential areas throughout the city. In central Doha, the Metro will be underground, whilst on the outskirts it will mainly be at ground level or elevated.[31] For the underground works, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) imported tunnel boring machines (TBMs). 21 TBMs were used to cut tunnels 20 meters beneath the city for the lines.

Each of the TBMs for the Doha Metro measures 7.05m in diameter and 120m in length.[32] To ensure successful transportation, the machines are dismantled into sections, including the cutter head.

Each TBM traveled a distance of between 7–9 km and took approx. 2 years to complete their respective tunnels. The TBM average speed will be between 12m/day to 21m/day, depending on ground conditions. Daily excavation quantity will be over 600m³, with an estimated predicted total excavation quantity of over 5,000,000m³.[33][34]

Qatar Rail has been recognised by Guinness World Records for having "The Largest Number of Tunnel Boring Machines Operating Simultaneously in a Single Project", a milestone for large-scale transport projects in Qatar and across the region.[35] With this recognition, the company has broken the previous world record, which was 19 simultaneously operational TBMs.[36]

In 2017, Qatar Rail received the ITA Award from the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association for the Major Project of the year 2017. The Doha Metro project was nominated under the category of "Projects exceeding 500 Million Euros" and won the award after being shortlisted with other three megaprojects from Canada, Iran and India.[37]

IT infrastructure

Computers, network infrastructure and other related equipment were provided by IBM, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens and Cisco Systems.

Safety and security
Interior of Doha Metro

Safety and security measures are applied throughout the drilling phase of the underground Doha Metro works. The planned procedures involve elements that can guarantee a safe working environment, far from the risks of injuries, including managing emergency cases and treating them swiftly. The safety & security program of Qatar's Railway focuses on the emergency planning and response on the railway network while taking into consideration the unique nature of mass transit systems when planning for and implementing the program.[38] The transport policies, security models addressing the legal and regulatory issues, as well as the relationships between the involved institutions[38] are also part of the safety and security plan that Qatar Rail Company is leading in Doha.

In September 2014, Qatar Rail, the owner and manager of Qatar's rail network and the party responsible for the design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the entire rail network and system,[39] has held a strategic workshop on the safety, security, and resilience of the country's railway network in consultation with UK and Qatari experts. The company proposed its safety and security programme, along with its recommendations and a full roadmap towards the future operation stage of the railway.[40]

In June 2014, it was announced that the Doha Metro Green Line Project achieved 6 million work hours without a lost time injury (LTI).[41]

Operation

The Metro System will be operated as a system with automatic train operation as Grade of Operation level 4 (GoA4). GoA4 is unattended train operation (UTO) where starting and stopping, operation of doors and handling of emergencies are fully automated without any on-train staff.

The network has two classes of travel, standard and goldclub. Standard tickets cost 2 Qatari riyals per journey, while goldclub tickets cost 10 riyals per journey. There are three types of train car used on the metro network: standard, goldclub, and family cars, which allow families and single women but not men. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, all cars were designated as standard to increase capacity on the network.[42]

Network map

References
  1. "Victoire pour Keolis et RATP Dev au Qatar" [Victory for Keolis and RATP Dev in Qatar] (in French). 7 December 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. "Doha Metro, Qatar". Railway Technology. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  3. "First Doha Metro trains arrive in Qatar – The Peninsula Qatar". thepeninsulaqatar.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  4. Qatar metro and light rail operating contract awarded Metro Report International 7 December 2017
  5. Qatar Rail. Building one of the modest modern railway networks in the world. Archived 10 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine 'Littlegate Publishing' Retrieved 1 April 2018
  6. "Qatar breaks ground on Doha Metro". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  7. Italy's Impregilo leads $2bn Doha Metro deal win Arabian Business Retrieved 19 June 2013
  8. Two more Doha Metro contracts awarded Construction Week Online Retrieved 19 June 2013
  9. Doha Gold Line design and construction awarded Railway Gazette International 1 June 2014
  10. Championship alliance in Doha 'Herrenknecht References' Retrieved 25 September 2016
  11. "FAQs". Qatar Rail. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  12. "Doha Metro". Qatar Rail. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  13. "Doha Metro to open Green Line for public from December 10". thepeninsulaqatar.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  14. "Doha metro Gold Line opens". Railway Gazette. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  15. "Qatar Rail encourages local firms to bid for work". Construction Week. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  16. "Qatar Railways receives four tunnel boring machines for Metro project". BQ Doha. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  17. "Qatar Rail awards Doha Metro contracts worth $8.2bn". Railway Technology. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  18. "Doha Metro Project". Yuksel. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  19. "More Doha metro contracts awarded". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  20. "Greek-led consortium wins $4.4bn bid to build Doha Metro's Gold Line". Doha News. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  21. "Doha Metro". Qatar Rail. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  22. "Doha Metro design given green light". Gulf Times. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  23. "UNStudio designs stations for phase one of the doha metro". Designboom. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  24. "doha metro Archives – Doha News". Doha News. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  25. "Qatar Rail cancels Doha Metro station contract". 8 May 2016.
  26. "Doha Metro – The Major Stations". Construction Week. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  27. "Doha metro rolling stock and railway systems contract awarded". Railway Gazette International. 20 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  28. First Doha metro trains arrive in Qatar International Railway Journal 21 August 2017
  29. Laura Onita (20 February 2015). "Japanese-led consortium to build Doha Metro rail systems". Engineering & Technology. The Institution of Engineering and Technology. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  30. "Mitsubishi Heavy, partners to supply subway system to Qatar". Nikkei Asian Review. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  31. "Doha Metro". Qatar Rail. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  32. "Qatar Rail receives first Doha TBM". Tunnels Online. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  33. "Doha Metro 16% complete". Doha News. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  34. "Qatar Rail Receives a Set of Four New TBMs for Doha Metro". Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  35. "Qatar Rail TBMs entered into Guinness Records". Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  36. "Qatar's Tbm Guinness Record". Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  37. "2017 ITA Tunnelling Awards winners". Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  38. "Qatar Rail issues a strategic program for railway's safety and security". Zawya. 2 September 2014.
  39. "About Us". Qatar Rail.
  40. "Qatar Rail workshop discusses safety and security". Arabian Industry. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  41. "Qatar Rail achieves 6mn man-hours incident-free safety record". 2014-06-14. 14 June 2014.
  42. "Everything you need to know about the Doha Metro". Time out Doha.
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