Some 600,000 people a day expected to use Doha Metro by 2021

More than half a million Qatar residents are expected to use the country’s upcoming Doha Metro by 2021, according to figures released by 2022 World Cup organizers this week.

Qatar Rail’s public transportation system is expected to enter operations in 2019, and about two years after that will carry approximately 600,000 passengers daily, officials have said.

The figure, mentioned in a statement published this week by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SCDL), is the first public ridership projection officials have made about the country’s under-construction rail network.

qatar airways

It also confirms forecasts Qatar Rail shared with prospective operators in procurement documents earlier this year.

That report states that 447,000 passengers are expected to ride the 37-station metro in 2020, its first full year of service, before jumping to 639,000 the following year and continuing to grow at a rate of 3.1 percent to 3.5 percent annually after that.