The number of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) operating in the Doha Metro project will be reduced between now and 2017, a senior official of Qatar Rail said yesterday.
The first of the 21 TBMs recently completed its 4.5km journey at the Msheireb side of the project and has been decommissioned, while the second TBM will complete its mission in two weeks.
“All the TBMs are expected to complete their missions in the first quarter of 2017,” Qatar Rail managing director Abdulla Abdulaziz al-Subaie told during the Dean’s Lecture Series of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar.
“A total of 67km tunnels have already been dug out of the project’s 113km,” he pointed out while highlighting the Doha Metro Phase 1 and LRT key
accomplishments.
Al-Subaie recalled that the Doha Metro comprises 109 stations, with Phase 1 to be completed before the end of 2019. It will be extended over 80km along the three lines, while Phase 2 will have a metro network extended over four lines (red, green, gold, and blue lines)
spanning 240km.
He said the long distance passenger and freight rail has four phases and spans 486km, connecting Qatar to other GCC countries. Also, al-Subaie said the Lusail Light Transit Rail project, a distribution network inside Lusail City, will be
operational in 2020.
All 37 stations spanning 38km and composed of yellow, purple, green, and red lines are under
construction, he stressed.
Citing the Metro project’s economic and environmental benefits once it is operational, al-Subaie said by 2021 the metro project will accommodate 640,000 passengers per day and 1.65mn passengers per day by 2031.
Qatar has a low public transport share with only 0.50% commuters recorded in 2015. “But by 2021, the metro project aims to increase commuter traffic by 21% and to 24% by 2031,”
he said.
Al-Subaie said Qatar Rail is expecting 76% of the population in the public transport catchment area by utilising the metro and other modes of public transportation provided by Mowasalat.
On improved journey time, al-Subaie said by 2021 Qatar Rail is expecting shorter travel time by 15 minutes. He said the metro project will reduce carbon emissions by 110 tonnes per day and lessen vehicular traffic by reducing the number of cars by 170,000 per day during peak hours.
On business opportunities, al-Subaie said the metro project will attract foreign investors and improve Qatar’s global competitiveness due to its strong transportation
infrastructure.
Al-Subaie said the metro project will also open opportunities for the real estate sector, particularly in communities within and around the West Bay station, Doha Al Jadeeda station, Umm Ghuwailina station, Al Sadd station, Bin Mahmoud station, and Hamad Hospital station, among others.