Qatar Rail has completed all the tunnelling work on the Doha Metro project with the final breakthrough taking place at Terminal One of Hamad International Airport (HIA)
The first tunnel boring machines started tunnelling in July 2014 and the final 111th km was crossed by TBM ?Msheireb? on the southern part of Red Line of this landmark mega project.
In order to achieve 100 per cent of the tunnelling for the Doha Metro project 470,497 concrete segments were required to produce 70,071 tunnel rings to make the 111 km of tunnels. The overall completion of Doha Metro now currently stands at 50 per cent.
In his remarks, minister of transport and communications and vice-chairman of rail steering committee, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti said, ?Transportation projects are given great attention under the leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and follow-up and supervision of HE Prime Minister and interior minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani. That led to a clear vision for implementing the best programmes in the country to the benefit of our society.?
He stated that the Doha Metro project would form the vital backbone of the integrated public transport system, supported by other Qatar Rail projects such as the Lusail Light Rail Transit and the long distance passenger and freight rail, to encourage the use of public transport and services.
?Finalising tunnelling for Doha Metro brings the company one step closer towards making this landmark megaproject operational, according to the planned timeline and budget, highest quality standards, use of eco-friendly technologies, best international standards in that unique project that would contribute to national development and become a global legacy for Qatar and coming generations, achieving Qatar National Vision 2030.?
He also said the Ministry of Transport and Communications is committed to implementing an integrated railroad project that is connecting Doha to all parts of the country and connecting Qatar to rail systems in brotherly countries in the GCC.
Commenting on the achievement, Saad Al Muhannadi, Qatar Rail?s CEO said, ?Completion of tunnelling on the Doha Metro is yet another major milestone for the project and one we are delighted to have achieved on plan and to schedule. Until now 7.5 km of above ground tracks via ducts have been installed and base slab and foundations have been completed on 33 stations. Roofs have been completed on eight stations and roof slabs are progressing at 27 different stations. We look forward to sharing many more milestones with you, especially the arrival of the Doha Metro train mock up later this year.?
The 21 state-of-the-art TBMs, which saw Qatar Rail recognised by the Guinness World Records for ?The Largest Number of Tunnel Boring Machines Operating Simultaneously on a Single Project? were shipped to Doha from the manufacturer ? Herrenknecht in Germany to carry out this task.
The first phase of the Doha Metro project is expected to be complete in 2020. By 2030, all the three networks ? Doha Metro, Lusail Tram and the long-distance rail, which will link Qatar with the GCC Rail network ? are expected to be complete. By 2020 Doha Metro?s 37 metro stations are expected to be operative, with an average journey time of two minutes between adjacent stations.
