Work on the Doha Metro has reached another milestone after a tunnel boring machine (TBM) completed its eight-month, 1.8km journey to the future site of the Doha Exhibition and Conference Center station.
Yesterday’s “breakthrough” by TBM “Al Bidda” in West Bay was witnessed by a group of guests and Qatar Rail staff gathered for the occasion.
The end of its journey signals the excavation of some 77 percent, or 86.5km, of tunnels for the Doha Metro project, a spokesperson for the national rail company told Doha News.
Last year, Qatar Rail set a world record for the highest number of TBMs in operation at once. All 21 of the massive machines were at work last summer, though that is no longer the case.
In December, TBM S-846 or “Al Rayyan TBM” was dismantled at Qatar Rail’s Al Messila site, which is both a station location and logistics center located off Jassim bin Hamad Street near Al Rayyan Road.
There are still more than a dozen TBMs at work underground, according to an online map charting their progress.
Meanwhile, the above-ground portions of the Doha Metro are also starting to take shape as construction crews build elevated platforms for the rail line out toward Al Wakrah, as well as along the Dukhan Highway toward the Mall of Qatar.
Tunneling is scheduled to wrap up later this year, when work shifts to laying tracks and installing the various mechanical and electrical systems needed to run the mass-transit system.
The 37-station network is expected to open to passengers in 2019 with four lines:
- The Red Line North, running from Lusail to Msheireb via West Bay;
- The Red Line South, running from Msheireb to Mesaieed, with a branch to Hamad International Airport;
- The Green Line, running from Al Rayyan Stadium to Msheireb via Education City; and
- The Gold Line, running from Villaggio Mall to the area around the old Doha International Airport, via Msheireb.
The Doha Metro is one of three rail projects underway in Qatar.
A long-distance passenger and freight line is planned to run from Education City to the Saudi Arabian border, while a light-rail transit system is being constructed in Lusail City.
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