Qrail feb2014

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Qatar

ON TRACK As Qatar’s ambitious rail project moves full steam ahead, Doha’s population can rejoice and look forward to their long commutes being halved

By Rohan Soman, Doha

Given the traffic chaos and congestion on the roads, particularly during peak hours, driving from a busy locality in the city and getting out of its limits to another city can easily take an hour on weekdays. On a Friday, too, when the roads are empty early in the morning or afternoon, a car ride would take no less than half that time to get you from downtown Doha to the Education City.

As one ponders over how Doha’s transportation system can be optimised to make local and long distance commuting hassle-free, efficient and possibly enjoyable, Qatar Rail picks up lightning speed to ensure in a few years from now, when the first phase of the Doha Metro Rail project is complete, a trip from Musheireb in downtown Doha to the Education City on the outskirts, will barely take 16 minutes. www.bqdoha.com

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TBM technology Just as you are relaxing at home sipping tea or simply watching TV, or are busy at the office, it is possible that beneath your building, much deeper, a giant advanced and specially built Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is at work, drilling a tunnel horizontally to make the underground passageway for the large railroad system for Doha Metro. The gigantic machines, that use the earth pressure balance (EPB) technology for the underground tunneling work, are deployed at several locations.

The EPB mechanism is the latest in tunneling technology that enables not only seamless setup of underground tunnels but also proper use of the demolished concrete (debris thus removed during the tunnel-making process) as a supporting layer, or as the tunnel’s protection shield.

“This drilling and cavitation machinery ranks among the best in the world, and has been tailor-designed keeping in view Qatar’s geographical nature,” says Hamad Al Bishri, deputy CEO and chief program officer at Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail or Q-Rail). In simple terms, the TBM consists of, among other things, a gigantic cutting ring that breaks into underground surfaces creating cylindrical “cavities” for the runnels. The debris that is removed in the process is transferred through the tunnels to a “dish” as the ring moves forward and cuts through underground concrete, supported by a functioning hydraulic system. This is the preliminary work for the multi-billion dollar Doha Metro Rail project.

A later step involves setting up a proper underground infrastructure.

No disruption to daily life Needless to say the entire project, which calls for extensive care coupled with technological sophistication, involves careful surveys and minute-scans of the areas concerned, and extensive planning. “We have set up several control and monitoring posts across these areas, as precautionary measures are to be taken to prevent any unforeseen problems,” says Al Bishri. A highlight of the precautionary measures

being taken includes a “balancing act” of underground cement injections under buildings surrounding the underground stations, if needed.

The focus will be on nonticket revenue, mainly from commercial and retail brands, shops and other outlets at the rail stations, and hoardings and advertisements in and outside of the trains

According to Al Bishri, the EPB technology will allow the company (Q-Rail) to carry out the work for underground tunnels with little impact on residential areas located above and around these tunnels. “Moreover, Q-Rail’s TBMs have been used in major cities around the world, including London, Paris, New York, and Zurich, and nearer home, in Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.”

The works assure world-class safety and security standards for both, the project’s crew and the residents. “The works for the underground tunnels will not disrupt Qatar residents’ daily lives,” Al Bishri says.

This is with regard to the technical aspects of the preliminary work for the region’s most advanced and ambitious metro rail project that will not only see Greater Doha interconnected with a railway network but also link Qatar, a little later, to the region’s railways, that might eventually connect the region to Europe.

This aside, a 30 kilometre Light Rail Transit project is coming up in the sprawling Lusail City north of Doha. The entire project, thus, involves construction of Qatar’s integrated railway network, work on which has already begun, and the last phase is expected to be ready by the end of the next decade, with the target year for the Qatar National Vision coming close on its heels. www.bqdoha.com

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In the first phase of the metro project, 34 rail stations will be built, with Musheireb as the Metro Rail’s headquarters. It will also be a major junction for three of the four routes The first phase But the Greater Doha Metro Rail project, being launched in two phases, will be partly operational as early as 2018 when its first phase is complete, with trains crisscrossing the fast-expanding city and its suburbs. The metro network, during the first phase, will cover 84 km in length. Some 69 km of this expanse will be underground, while 11 km will be above the ground level and a four-kilometre stretch of the railroad will run parallel to the ground. “The Metro lines will operate underground in areas located in the heart of Doha,” Al Bishri tells bq.

In all, in the first phase of the metro project, 34 rail stations will be built, with Musheireb as the Metro Rail’s headquarters. It will also be a major junction for three of the four routes. The station will consist of four levels, and construction of the station is expected to kick off in this very quarter (first quarter of 2014). The Routes, called Lines by Q-Rail, www.bqdoha.com

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The second phase of the Greater Doha Metro Rail project, extending over 152 kilometres in length, and encompassing some 56 rail stations, is expected to be ready by 2026 are to be Red, Green, Gold, and Blue. The Musheireb station will be the intersection for the Red, Green and Gold Lines.

The Blue Line, to be built during the second phase, is planned to be semi-circular and will link residential and commercial areas in the West Bay and the northern parts of the new airport (Airport City) to the main C Ring Road. It is not known if the Routes (Lines) will be known by their respective colours because of the colour of the coaches or wagons and the engines that will pull them, or by the colour of the railway tracks, though the latter doesn’t sound too plausible.

The routes The Red Line, to be also known as the Coastal Route, will traverse through Al Wakrah City, Hamad International Airport, Musheireb, of course, the Katara Cultural Village, The Pearl-Qatar, and Qatar University.

The Green Line, to be known as the Educawww.bqdoha.com

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The long-distance passenger and freight railway transportation system will cover about 400 kilometres in length and have seven rail stations… The project is to be completed in four phases by 2029, with the first phase (135 km) that will connect Qatar to Saudi Arabia, expected to be ready by 2018

Tenders Several contracts have already been awarded and the total value of this is estimated at QR 32 bn. The contracts which are yet to be awarded are: civil contracts for underground works, elevated sections and rolling stock among others, which will be awarded in Q4, 2014. This year, Q-Rail will be awarding consulting contracts as well. Works to be carried out in 2014 include route works, maintenance works, electro-mechanical works. The following stations will go to tender soon: Barwa, Industrial Area and North Wakra. Tenders for building the line between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be awarded by 2015.

Hamad Al Bishri, deputy CEO and chief program officer at Qatar Railways Company

tion Route, will on the other hand cover in its network Al Rayyan Road, and connect it to the Education City via Musheireb and Hamad Hospital.

The Gold Line, to be known as the History Route, will link east to west, traversing through Hamad Hospital, Musheireb, Al Sadd, Bin Mahmoud, Souq Waqif and Al Waab City to the new airport (Hamad International).

The fourth and the last route will be known as the Blue Line (City Line). As mentioned earlier, it is planned to be semi-circular and connect residential and commercial areas in the West Bay and the northern parts of Hamad International Airport to the main C Ring Road.

At the end of the two phases, all the four Routes will be interconnected. The Red Line will see downtown Doha connected to the bustling business district in the West Bay, extending underground and stretching up to the new Lusail City. Its southern extension will, on the other hand, link Doha to the centre of Musheireb.

The Gold Route will link Hamad International Airport to the new national museum, Musheireb central station and the heart of Doha.

The Green Route will ferry commuters to the various football stadiums that are being built in preparation for the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

The other phases The second phase of the Greater Doha Metro Rail project, extending over 152 kilometres in length, and encompassing some 56 rail stations, is expected to be ready by 2026. Some 47 km of the rail tracks will be underground, 76 km above the ground level, while 29 km will run parallel to the ground.

The Education City will also be a major junction, second only to Musheireb, and in the future when Qatar is connected through the railways to other GCC countries, it will link the Green Line to the long-distance railway network.

The long-distance passenger and freight railway transportation system will cover about 400 kilometres in length and have seven rail stations, according to Al Bishri.

Once ready, passenger trains will travel at a speed of 220 to 350 kilometers per hour.

The project is to be completed in four phases by 2029, with the first phase (135 km ) that will connect Qatar to Saudi Arabia, expected to be ready by 2018.

In the second phase, which is likely to be ready by 2021 and cover 173 km, Qatar will be connected to Bahrain.

In the third phase, Doha will be linked to all the previous networks and to Ras Laffan, while in the last phase Qatar will be connected through the railways to the whole of the GCC region.

“A common rail network will produce a new method of transportation for people and goods between the GCC countries. It will help connect the Red Sea with the Gulf and help reduce CO2 emissions, having a positive economic, social and environmental impact,” says Al Bishri. The modern transportation system, according to him will reduce cars on Qatar’s roads by a quarter and help save 107 kg of gas emissions. With this amount of gas, he says, “an aircraft can go around the world 21 times.”

Areas around the stations will be developed, with residential and commercial complexes springing up, thus contributing immensely to the country’s economic development.

Revenues from these operations are expected to be around $3.8 billion. The focus will be on non-ticket revenue, mainly from commercial and retail brands, shops and other outlets at the rail stations, and hoardings and advertisements in and outside of the trains, as clarified by Qatar Rail at an earlier press conference.

report. The Riyadh Metro Project awarded in June, worth $22bn, was the largest of these investments made. Saudi Arabia is expecting a boom in metro contract awards, with Mecca, Medina and Dammam all looking to develop metro and light rail networks in the coming years. Metro Jeddah Company has already announced that the Jeddah Metro will likely be awarded in the first half of 2015.

The ambitious railway project spanning all the GCC countries is the regional network called the GCC Railway Network. With a total project length of over 2000 km and over 600 km in Saudi Arabia alone, the executive phase on the ground is looking at a completion date in 2017. The line will run from Kuwait via Saudi Arabia to the UAE and Oman with branches linking to Qatar and Bahrain. Etihad Rail, UAE’s national rail network, is expected to be completed four years from now, in the second quarter of 2018. The first contract for Oman’s national railway line, Oman Rail, will be tendered by the end of 2014 and the project is expected to be fully operational by 2018.

With inputs from Shereen D’Souza

Regional rail network The GCC is headed towards a railway construction boom, given that $194bn worth of rail projects are planned or underway in the region according to a MEED

www.bqdoha.com

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