Friday 29 March 2024
 
»
 
»
DRIVERLESS METRO SYSTEM

5-member consortium wins systems deal for Doha Metro

DOHA, February 20, 2015

A five-member consortium has received a ‘Letter of Conditional Acceptance’ from the Qatar Railways Company for a systems package of the Doha Metro, the first metro system to be constructed in Qatar.

The consortium consists of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Hitachi, The Kinki Sharyo, and Thales, said a statement.

The construction has been scheduled for completion by October 2019, it said.

Qatar Rail is the owner and manager of Qatar's rail network and responsible for the design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the entire rail network and systems.

The Phase 1 of the Doha Metro network will be launched in 2019; it is implemented by multiple Joint Ventures involving renowned Local and International contractors.

The newly accepted package calls for turnkey construction of a fully automated driverless metro system.

Included are 75 sets of three-car trains, platform screen doors, tracks, a railway yard, and systems for signaling, power distribution, telecommunications and tunnel ventilation.

The package is also expected to include maximum 20-year maintenance services for the metro system after its completion.


Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the leader of the consortium, will supply the power distribution system, platform screen doors, tracks and tunnel ventilation work, and will also undertake overall project management and system integration.

Mitsubishi Corporation and Kinki Sharyo will jointly provide the railway cars, while Thales will supply the advanced Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling, telecommunications and security, integrated Operational Control Center and automatic fare collection systems.

Meanwhile, Hitachi will perform some project management duties and also handle facilities maintenance, including the supply of special maintenance vehicles that comprehensively inspect the safety of infrastructure such as railway tracks and electric train lines.


Saad Ahmed Al Muhannadi, chief executive officer of Qatar Rail, said: ”The Doha Metro ongoing works are being done according to our timeline that we set at the beginning of the project. In 2013 and 2014, we signed many agreements that reached a remarkable value promising to deliver the best standards of metro railway in the near future.

“Today, with the five-member Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, we look forward to add more value to our project knowing the international expertise of the Japanese fellows and provide Doha with a fully secure and automated driverless metro system."

The Doha Metro will run through the city of Doha and will consist of four lines in two phases – red, green, gold and blue – covering a total distance of 241 km with 106 stations, of which 123 km will be constructed underground.

The new metro system will connect the main areas of Doha, including the Hamad International Airport opened in April last year, the Old City, and newly developing inner city areas such as West Bay and Lusail.



After submitting its bid in March, the consortium underwent 11 months of detailed negotiations. The Letter of Conditional acceptance was ultimately received after convincingly demonstrating to the client the consortium’s high technical capabilities and robust track record in the construction of metro systems, said the statement.



The Doha Metro project is also in line with the Japanese government's vision to contribute to Qatar's infrastructure development, a point that was confirmed during the Qatar Business Forum in August 2013. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Qatar | Doha | consortium | metro | Rail | Mitsubishi |

More Construction & Real Estate Stories

calendarCalendar of Events

Ads