By Ayman Adly www.gulf-times.com
- The Qatar railways project will introduce the world’s most advanced and eco-friendly system making the transport sector in the country a hub for modern life, a senior official has said.
“The construction phase of the project, which will cost 25bn euros, will commence in 2013. The other phases will follow and the final completion is in 2026,” said Sheikha Lulua al-Thani, first co-ordinator of corporate development at Qatar Railway Company (QRC).
She was quoted in the memorial book “40 Years of Excellence and Achievements” launched by the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry to mark the progress achieved in Qatar in the last four decades.
Sheikha Lulua al-Thani noted that QRC had completed the initial design phase of the project, which has a contemporary style to suit all categories of civil society, including businessmen, tourists and travellers, and combine modern amenities and facilities and innovative design elements.
The network is to offer various travel classes including first class, family compartments and economy class. Travellers would also have a better travel experience in terms of speed, comfort and safety.
The official pointed out that the railway project will link the main areas and essential facilities of the country. It will be made up of three systems – a metro system, long-distance line, and goods transport lines. The goods transport lines will link the industrial areas in Qatar, such as Ras Laffan, Mesaieed and Dukhan, in addition to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The metro system will link the external and internal areas of Doha and serve key projects like Lusail project, the New Doha International Airport project, Education City, and the West Bay area.
The long distance line will connect Qatar and Bahrain across the proposed Friendship Causeway. It will also link Qatar with Saudi Arabia. The speed of the metro within Doha would reach 80km/h, and increase to 130km/h outside Doha. The metro lines are classified into three types. The red line extends over 177km across around 36 stations. It connects the north and south of Qatar linking Mesaieed City, New Doha International Airport, Musheireb, Lucile, Al-Khor, the North and Ras Laffan.
The golden line extends over 36km and goes through 20 stations connecting Doha, the airport, Musheireb, Waab, Rayyan, Salwa Road. The green line would be 128km long passing through 32 stations covering Al-Rayyan area. It will link Education City to the heart of Doha, and links the west to the south through Dukhan, Umm Salal and the Industrial Zone in the South.
The total length of the railway network would be about 682km. The three line of the metro will take up to 328km of these. In addition, 175km of it will link Qatar with Bahrain and 95km will link it with Saudi Arabia.
The speed of the passenger train is expected to reach 350km/h. The time estimate shown by the studies indicates that the journey from the New Doha International Airport to Manama, (213km), would be 55 minutes, and the journey from the West Bay area to Manama (180km) would also take 63 minutes.
The journey from Education City to Manama (162km) would take 50 minutes, and the train journey to Saudi Arabia (95km) 40 minutes. The speed of the trains for transport of goods is expected to reach 120km/h, with a cargo capacity of 25 tonnes.
