Chantelle D'Mello
The Al Rayyan TBM.
Updated with video of the breakthrough of the final TBM
In a major milestone for the country, Qatar Rail has completed drilling work on the Doha Metro.
Digging out 111km of tunnels for the first phase of the public transportation system took about two years, according to QNA.
To accomplish this, Qatar Rail employed the use of 21 massive tunnel-boring machines (TBMs), the first of which arrived in the country in April 2014.
Overall work on the metro is now 50 percent complete, Qatar’s Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti said.
The company has already begun focusing on installing electrical equipment and completing the structure of the 37 stations that make up the first phase.
By the third of quarter of next year, the first train is scheduled to be delivered to Qatar Rail. And the metro is slated to open to passenger traffic in late 2019 or early 2020.
It will initially be comprised of three lines: red, green and gold.
What’s next
During an event yesterday, Qatar Rail’s chairman and managing director thanked everyone who contributed to the achievement.
Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Turki Al Subaie added that the company “will continue its march with known dedication and firm commitment to achieve the vision of providing an integrated world-class railway services,” QNA reports.
Qatar Rail
A rendering of Doha Metro station
Over the next year, Qatar Rail aims to make progress on track installations and award several operator contracts, the company said in its 2015-2016 Annual Report.
It also plans to develop operational readiness procedures and revenue generation models.
Thoughts?
(The post Qatar Rail completes tunneling on the Doha Metro is from Doha News.)