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DECEMBER 2015www.endeavourmagazine.com
INSPIRED BY YOUR SUCCESS
Qatar RailThe Most Modern Railway Network
Doha Metro in Qatar’s capital city will be one of the most advanced rail transit systems in the world when Phase I becomes operational by the end of 2019 and we were fortunate enough to speak with Engineer Sultan Al-Anzi, EVP of Operations at Qatar Rail. The development of the Doha Metro, was originally planned for 2007, as part of a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Doha. While they lost the bid to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Doha still proceeded with the project in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup which it won the bid for in 2010.
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Recognising the importance of a reliable and aesthetically representing infrastructure, these requirements led for the proposal of a comprehensive railway network for future
development in the Greater Doha area and in the state as a whole.The rail transit system is part of the Qatar Government’s
€130bn diversification and modernisation strategy, which involves public and private investments. This campaign also aims to reduce the country’s dependency on natural gas exports. The project is already underway, with contracts for the first phase being awarded in August 2012 and the ground breaking celebration taking place two months later on the 10th of October 2012. Work has started on the Msheireb interchange station, which will serve as the hub for the metro’s operations.
“The objective of the transport master plan for Qatar is to develop attractive, efficient and reliable public transport in the country,” he explains.
Doha Metro is part of a larger railway network, which consists of five modern and flexible railway systems integrated across the Persian Gulf and Eng. Sultan Al-Anzi reveals that the larger network includes the development of passenger and freight rail transport systems, along with fast rail links to the international airport, based on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) feasibility study.
“The master plan involves development of a metro railway system in Qatar, in addition to long-distance and freight lines connecting the emirate with the rest of the GCC,” he says, “Currently in the planning stage, the GCC network will connect six member states, namely Oman, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, with a 1,940km rail network.”
In August 2008, national development agency Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment appointed the German national railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) to produce plans for a railway network in the country. It was DB International (DBI), theglobal wing of Deutsche Bahn, and Qatari Diar who prepared conceptual designs for the consolidated railway network development in Qatar.
Originally, in 2009, Qatari Diar and DB signed an agreement to form a joint venture known as Qatar Railways Development
Company (QRDC), for implementing, developing and managing the conceptual design of the railway plan. In this joint venture, Qatari Diar would hold 51% and DBI 49% shares in the joint venture (JV) company.
However in 2011, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) purchased the shares held by DBI in the JV and became the sole owner of QRDC. In this regard the project is now being executed directly by Qatar Rail instead of QRDC, with support from DB International.
Estimated at costing $36billion, the Doha metro network is planned to be built in phases and will become one of the most modern railway networks in the world with four lines, namely the Red, Green, Gold and Blue metro lines, an overall length of 300km and 98 stations. Bids for the lines were submitted in 2012 and early 2013 and Phase I of the project includes construction of all four lines and two major stations. Construction of this phase has been underway since 2013 and Eng. Saltan Al-Anzi assures us that it is expected to be completed in October 2019, three years ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Automated fare collections: Contactless systems that typically involve passengers pre-paying their fare online or at the station and then holding a card or token up to a sensor at a gate have been extensively used. This means of payment, the predominant form in the likes of the London Underground, has proved to be highly efficient and preferred by international commuters.
Platform screen doors: Increasingly common in new and retrofitted metro systems, these are separate doors that act as a safety barrier between the platform and the tracks. Another feature is that some of the trains, akin to a system built in Dubai, will be fully automated and driverless, negating the need for human operators.
Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail), the company overseeing the construction of the Qatar’s integrated railway network, had nearly completed 20km of tunnels dug on the Doha Metro project, a landmark that clearly highlights the progress of the tunnelling works underneath Doha city.
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“With road travel being an extensive mode of transport, Qatar has always enjoyed a well-developed road network made up of a highway system and expressways,” Eng. Sultan Al-Anzi tells us, “The public transport that does exist is mainly provided by Mowasalat, a state-owned integrated ground transportation company.”
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Qatar Rail already received the 21 Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) assigned for the project, after being imported from Herrenknecht, the German world market leader in mechanised tunnelling technology. Most of Qatar Rail TBMs are currently operational, with expectations to successfully accomplish the tunneling phase by the second quarter of 2017.
Eng. Abdulla Abdulaziz T. Al Subaie, Managing Director of Qatar Rail, said, “Qatar Rail has overcome many challenges to launch a successful tunnelling phase at Doha Metro project. Our philosophy is to talk about what we have achieved, rather than share intangible promises. Today, we are pleased to announce the completion of nearly 20km of tunnels out of 113km; a development that we at Qatar Rail are proud of. Thanks to all workers and stakeholders contributing to the success of this national project in alignment with Qatar’s National vision 2030, the Doha Metro tunnelling works are progressing as planned in adherence to global standards”.
The TBMs are a key component in implementing the Doha Metro innovative project; a high-tech mechanised alternative to conventional methods of design-and-build mining, drilling and blasting tunnels through everything from soft ground to hard rocks. They form circular tunnels through the rock and can install concrete
linings along the drilled sections to reinforce the bored tunnel and stabilise the ground.
The Doha Metro’s Red Line has launched all tunnel-boring machines, which are Lebretha, Al Mayeda, Al Khor, Al Biddaa, Lehwaila, Al Wakra, Msheireb, Doha and Al Zubara. Tunnelling works are progressing according to plan where the accumulative dug of these TBMs reached 11880m for both northern and southern sections. In parallel, the Green Line also launched its six TBMs with an accumulative tunneling of 6653m executed by Al Rayyan TBM, Al Gharrafa, Al Messila, Al Sheehaniya, Leatooriya and Lijmailiya TBMs, while the tunneling drive recorded 150m until now at the Gold Line, which has received its six tunnel-boring machines; Lusail, Sharq, Al Sadd, Al Waab, Al Sailiya and Ras bu Abboud (Airport City North).
Eng. Saad Ahmed Al Muhannadi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Rail, discussed the latest updates of the rail projects said, “During the past year, we have achieved remarkable milestones on the Doha Metro and Lusail Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects thanks to the joint efforts of the company and its contractors. Particularly, the tunnelling phase for the Doha Metro was successfully launched as we achieved great records of 11880m of tunnel dug at the Red
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Line, 6653m at the Green Line and 150m at the Gold Line. With a skilled team and advanced machines, we were able to tackle obstacles and ensure works are moving forward.”
Commenting on complications that may occur during the TBMs operations underground, Al Muhannadi said, “Challenges are the rule of any innovative project similar to Qatar Rail’s current endeavour and these encounters might be logistic - like finding the best way to manage excavations left-over at any site or between two different locations, or geo-technical, as no matter how good our surveys were, we will keep on discovering what the underground world is hiding, from groundwater conditions to voids and cavities,”
He also noted, “Technical hitches cannot be avoided while implementing such a huge and complex project, however, they can be dealt with in an efficient, effective and timely manner. We were proud of the team who handled a flooding situation at Al Bidda station earlier this year, which had no delay or impact on the Doha Metro progress. When and if such incidents occur, it is our duty to react immediately.”
A presentation on the Qatar Rail projects and the tunnelling mechanism was also shared by Eng. Hamad Ibrahim Al Bishri, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Rail. The demonstration
gave insight on “the other life being led underground” showing the route of each TBM operating, the machinery details and the improvement at this stage.
Qatar Rail’s interactive event was followed by a site visit to Al Sudan Gold Line Underground station, where attendees were able to inspect some of the tangible and concrete progress of Qatar Rail’s developments in general and the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) operations specifically.
Needing only one point of entry, TBMs can drill right below the city streets, practically unknown to the crowds above. They are also ideal for long lengths of uninterrupted tunnelling, as required by the Doha Metro project. Having limited environmental footprints, the machines have very little impact on the infamously high water levels that lie beneath Doha. Dust pollution associated with construction sites is virtually non-existent as all work takes place approximately 20 metres below the surface. The Doha Metro project is using 7 metre diameter TBMs, producing a tunnel with a diameter of 6.7 metres.
“2019 is right around the corner and so we are leaving nothing to chance and working with the best,” Eng. Sultan Al-Anzi advises, “Combining talent with vision is the way to achieve greatness.”
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