Come 2020, Doha will see the Metro, Lusail LRT lines in action

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past three years, you may have heard about the insane amount of money Qatar is sinking into getting its railways lines up and running.

The signs of work on the Doha Metro is to be seen everywhere. In fact, the first three lines of Phase I of the Doha Metro and the Lusail LRT (light rail transit) system will be fully operational as early as 2020, according to Qatar Rail.

“We’re still on schedule to open the first three lines of phase one of the Doha Metro and the Lusail LRT by the end of 2020,” Gulf Times quoted Qatar Rail managing director Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie as saying to the Oxford Business Group.

“The construction of the Doha Metro is currently operating at full capacity, with over 32,000 workers. As of the beginning of June, 2016, more than 100km of tunnels (out of the total 111km) have been dug. We anticipate finishing the remainder by the last quarter of 2016. 100% of the tunnels for the Lusail LRT have been completed," he added.

In 2016, Qatar Rail will award the mechanical engineering and plumbing contracts, as well as the architectural subcontracts, to complete the fit-out for all of the 37 metro stations for Phase I.

The full-scale mock-up for the metro trains and LRT trams will arrive in Doha for the first time in 2016, he said.

Al Subaie said they were taking extra care to ensure that the projects are completed in a time-bound manner.

“The contract includes a bonus clause for contractors for the early completion of milestones. We’re the first major project in Qatar to incentivise construction in this way,” he said.