Millions of people chose the more sustainable transportation option during the FIFA Arab Cup.
Over 2.5 million passengers used the Doha Metro during the FIFA Arab Cup between 30 November to 18 December, Qatar Rail has revealed, with an average of 130,000 passengers daily.
The national metro and public service played a vital role in transporting thousands of fans daily to the FIFA Arab Cup games held at state-of-the-art World Cup stadiums across the country.
“Doha Metro played a pivotal role in transporting the fans of the Arab Cup 2021, More than 2.5 million passengers used metro services during the tournament,” the institution said in a tweet.
“We are pleased to be partners in the success of this tournament, which represented a role model for hosting major sports events.”
#DohaMetro played a pivotal role in transporting the fans of the Arab Cup 2021, More than 2.5 million passenger used metro services during the tournament.We are pleased to be partners in the success of this tournament,which represented a role model for hosting major sports events pic.twitter.com/ePQJKnQAbN
— Qatar Rail (@QatarRail) December 19, 2021
Authorities in Qatar added to the convenience by providing passengers holding Fan ID’s with free and unlimited travel services.
During the 19-day-tournament, Doha Metro operated around 50,000 trips, passing through various stations to transport the public. According to statistics, passengers were made to wait at average time of of just 2.5 minutes between each train.
On Qatar National Day, around 250,000 passengers also used the metro to reach their destinations around Qatar to avoid traffic.
This comes as the metro announced an extension in operational hours to 21 hours a day throughout the week, except for Fridays, up from a previous 18 hours. This made it more convenient for fans to take public transportation after late night matches at stadiums.
To accommodate the sheer number of passengers, the metro also utilised six-car trains on the Red Line, allowing for double capacity.
With 110 trains, the entire Doha Metro train fleet was fully deployed in service during the tournament.
“We are proud to participate in the organisational success system of the Arab Cup and its appearance in such an honourable way. We are proud that we succeeded in gaining the confidence of 2.5 million passengers throughout the tournament period,” said Abdulla Saif Al-Sulaiti, Chief of Service Delivery at Qatar Rail.
“This clearly reflects the growing confidence of residents and visitors in Doha Metro, and confirms our operational readiness to receive and serve the guests of the World Cup Qatar 2022.”
Qatar Rail also revealed that more than 2,500 staff worked around the clock as part of the network to help fans and visitors with any information or assistance needed.
“There is no doubt that this impressive organisational and operational success is the tournament is a result of joint efforts with our partners especially the tournament’s organising committee, the SCDL, and other stakeholders,” said Ajlan Eid Al Enazi, Chief of Strategy and Business Development at Qatar Rail.
“All these efforts played an instrumental role in delivering a successful tournament. This kind of sports tournament represented an important opportunity for us to test the operational readiness and preparations for the upcoming the FIFA World Cup Qatar2022.”
The Doha Metro stations are directly connected to three of the six stadiums where the Arab Cup matches were held, including Stadium 974, Education City Stadium, and Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
For the other three, Qatar Rail provided free shuttle services to transport the fans from the stations to the stadiums with ease.
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