Qatar Rail inks $8.87bn deals on rail projects

Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) announced Tuesday it signed contracts worth QAR 32 billion (around USD 8.87 billion) for the development of Doha Metro and a passenger and freight rail network in Lusail, the country's newest city. The implementation of the two projects is proceeding smoothly as planned, CEO of Qatar Rail Eng. Saad Ahmed Al-Muhanadi said in a press conference here. "The company is conducting technical, commercial and investment assessments of long-distance passenger and freight rail lines," he said, noting that the total length of the planned long-distance network amounts to 350 km. "The designed maximum speed of passenger trains amounts to 220-350 km/h while that of the freight trains amounts to 120 km/h," he revealed. On the Lusail Train project, Al-Muhanadi said the construction of the project's tunnels is 100 percent complete and that the stations are 60 percent complete while the flyover above Al-Khor motorway is 50 percent complete. "The Lusail Train project is expected to be ready to use by 2017," he noted, adding that the construction of the tunnels of the Doha Metro will start in the third quarter of 2014. The train projects will mainly use electricity and Qatar Rail is studying the viability of using the solar energy in some parts of the projects, Eng. Al-Muhanadi added. The coastal city of Lusail is located about 15 km north of the city centre of Doha, just north of the West Bay Lagoon, over a total area of 35 sq. km.; it will planned to provide accommodation for up to 250,000 people