Firm will implement $35bn network including metro and freight lines
Date established: 2011
Main business sector: Rail
Managing director: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Turki al-Subaie
Chief executive officer: Saad Ahmed al-Mohannadi
Tel: (+974) 4 497 7886
Web: www.qr.com.qa
Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) was founded in 2011 to support and coordinate the growth of Qatars rail industry. It is fully owned by the Qatar Railways Development Company (QRDC), which is a joint venture created in 2009 between Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Germanys Deutsche Bahn. QRDC remains the overall developer of the $35bn Qatar Integrated Rail Programme and is planning to complete several rail projects by 2022, when the country will host the Fifa football World Cup. Qatar Rail is tasked with implementing the plans. A quarter of all Qatars infrastructure spending will be dedicated to Qatar Rails projects in coming years.
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Turki al-Subaie is managing director of Qatar Rail. Its chief executive officer is Saad Ahmed al-Mohannadi, who took up the position in July 2011, a month after Qatar issued an Emiri decree to set up a committee to supervise the development and implementation of the railway programme. Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani is chairman of the committee, and Qatar Rail implements its recommendations.
When completed, Qatars rail network will consist of a metro, a long-distance network and a light-rail transit system.
This involves forming a regulatory framework for the sector, developing strategies and policies for aspects of the network such as pricing of fares. Qatar Rail will need to set standards for safety, environment and customer service. It will work to integrate the countrys railway services with other modes of transport. On projects, it will appoint programme management consultants, enforce regulations and standards on the operators of rail services, and manage project costs.
In December 2013, Al-Subaie said the completed rail projects will create jobs for the Qatari private sector and are forecast to generate more than $38bn in revenues.
The establishment of a rail network will make it far easier and faster to travel around the Qatar peninsula. At present, road is the sole means of getting around the country and the road network is severely underdeveloped, meaning that congestion is a major problem on principal arteries. During peak hours, trucks are banned in the capital Doha.
Qatar Rails mission is clear: it will plan, design and implement Qatars $35bn integrated rail programme. It is responsible for the design, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance of the network and its systems. Planned projects include the $2.2bn West Bay people-mover, the Doha metro, a freight line linking the countrys east coast ports with Doha, a high-speed passenger line and light railways in the Lusail City and Education City developments.
The freight and passenger rail network will span 350 kilometres when complete. The high-speed passenger line will run at up to 350km an hour from Hamad International Airport, through Doha city and on to Ras Ashairij in the northwest of the peninsula the start of the proposed Qatar-Bahrain Causeway.
The freight railway will run from the industrial city of Ras Laffan in the northeast to the New Doha Port at Mesaieed in the southeast. The line will also have a spur that runs to the gas processing facilities in Dukhan in the west. When complete, it will have the capacity to transport 11 million tonnes of cargo a year.
The 354km Doha metro will consist of four lines Red, Gold, Green and Blue and 93 stations are currently planned. The Red Line will be the first to be developed and will run from Hamad International airport to West Bay in central Doha.
The main technical challenge will be mitigating the impacts of Qatars harsh climate on the rail network. The designers will have to contend with sand accumulation on the tracks, high temperatures and humidity. They will also have to factor in camel crossings. Railway lines will have to be cleared of sand frequently and this will require a lot of staff, equipment and maintenance. Qatar has already decided to prevent the build-up of sand by elevating sections of some of its projects.
The Doha metro, much of which will run beneath the surface, faces different problems. Building underground means that the lines can avoid roads and utilities, but the nature of the land in Qatar, with its unpredictable karstic limestone, will pose a challenge.
A quarter of all Qatars infrastructure spending will be dedicated to Qatar Rails projects in coming years
GCC Rail Network
The other GCC member states are also currently planning or developing their own railway networks, which will include passenger and freight lines, and metro and tram projects.
Saudi Arabia already has a railway, but the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar are all developing an entirely new industry from scratch. However, it is arguably Qatar that has the most work to do. At $35bn, its network will be the most expensive to implement. More importantly, it has a very slim time frame in which to plan, design and build its various rail projects. Qatars railway network will eventually form part of the wider GCC network.
The GCC railway project will be 2,200km long and will run from Kuwait to Muscat. It will be single-track for dual use, accommodating both passengers and freight. The second phase of the railway is likely to see a line running on to Yemen.
It was always going to be a challenge to build six national rail networks simultaneously. Although it is unlikely that the GCC railway will be operational by 2017 as was once planned, due to slow progress in Oman and Bahrain, the project is moving ahead. To date, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have made the most progress in developing their plans the first phase of the UAEs Etihad Rail network should be up and running this year. But with its looming deadline, Qatar will now be racing to catch up.
Doha Metro
Estimated value $21bn
Construction work on the metro started last year after Qatar Rail awarded the consortium of Austrias Porr, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) and the local HBK Contracting the enabling works package.
Once complete, the metro will have more than 90 stations and cover about 354km. It will link the yet-to-be-opened Hamad International airport with the centre of Doha and will connect several stadiums to be used for the 2022 Fifa football World Cup.
The project will be built in two phases. The first, due for completion in 2019, will see about 100km of track built on the Red, Green and Gold lines, and 37 stations. Phase 2 will add 152km of track and about 55 stations by 2026.
Between May and June 2013, Qatar Rail signed design and construction contracts totalling about QR30bn ($8bn) for work on the Doha metro.
A QR8bn contract for the construction of the Red Line North underground sections was awarded to Italys Impregilo, South Koreas SK Engineering & Construction and the local Galfar al-Misnad.
A QR8bn deal for the underground sections for the 12km Red Line South was awarded to a consortium of the local/French QDVC, South Koreas GS Engineering & Construction and the local Darwish Engineering.
A team of Porr, SBG and the local HBK Contracting won the contract to build the underground sections for the 15km-long Green Line.
South Koreas Samsung C&T, Spains OHL and Qatar Building Company won an estimated QR4bn contract to build the two major stations at Msheireb and Education City.
The contract for the Gold Line underground section, the largest construction package, has not yet been awarded, although a consortium of the local Midmac Contracting Company, Belgiums Six Construct and Hollands Royal BAM Group is believed to be the front runner. Bids were submitted in September for the elevated sections of the Red Line South.
Overland railway
Estimated value $15bn
The long-distance passenger and freight railway will cover 350km at speeds of 220-350km/h for passenger trains and up to 120km/h for freight.
Consultants resubmitted bids for the consultancy services contract for the railway in July 2013, after the scope of the contract was expanded. In May, Parsons Brinckerhoff was appointed as strategic programme manager.
Early plans for the two rail lines see the scheme divided into three phases, with the first stage involving a 195km freight line connecting Port Mesaieed and Ras Laffan, and eventually linking to Saudi Arabia through the planned GCC-wide network. This stage is due for completion in 2019.
Phase 2 involves the construction of the 150km high-speed connection to Bahrain. Phase 3 will see the construction of a 165km passenger and freight national network linking Dukhan to Al-Shamal and Doha city.
Lusail Light Rail Transit
Estimated value $4bn
The Lusail Light Rail Transit (LRT) system is being built to serve Lusail City, a 35 square kilometre real estate development master-planned by Qatari Diar to the north of Doha. When complete, it will house about 200,000 people.
The LRT will consist of 30.5km of track over four lines, and will have 37 stations. Ten stations will be underground, one will be on a bridge and there will be one on each of two high-rise buildings connected by 0.5km of track. One km of the track will be elevated and 10km will be underground.
In December 2013, Qatar Rails chief executive officer told journalists that the tunnelling works had been finalised, and that drilling works for the stations were 60 per cent complete. A bridge over Al-Khor, scheduled for delivery in 2017, was 50 per cent finished.
The US Parsons Brinckerhoff is the project manager and Germanys DB International is a consultant on the scheme.
As part of the project, Qatar Rail is also building the West Bay people-mover. It will connect Doha Convention Centre & Tower to the West Bay area over 9km of track and 15 stations.
You might also like...
TotalEnergies to acquire remaining 50% SapuraOMV stake
26 April 2024
Hyundai E&C breaks ground on Jafurah gas project
26 April 2024
Abu Dhabi signs air taxi deals
26 April 2024
Spanish developer to invest in Saudi housing
26 April 2024
A MEED Subscription...
Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.
