Qatar Rail to get first batch of trains for Lusail Tram in March

Doha: Qatar Rail has accomplished another milestone with the completion of the manufacturing of the first, out of 28, trains for the Lusail Tram project. The Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) took place at Alstom Factory in the French City of La Rochelle. The first batch of trains is expected to arrive in Doha this March.
Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti visited Alstom Factory in France in the presence of Dr Khalid Al Mansouri, Qatar Ambassador & Abdulla Al Subaei, MD & CEO of Qatar Rail to review the progress in Lusail tram manufacturing & the testing of the first tram.
During the visit, the delegation took a tour at the factory of Alstom, one of the largest companies working in the manufacture of tram trains. Alstom is currently working on manufacturing 28 Citadis trams and power generation equipment, in addition to signage works and railways. The integrated low-floor train cars are very convenient for passengers, being designed to withstand harsh weather conditions.
The Minister said: “We are very pleased to be here to witness yet another significant milestone in Qatar Rail’s projects, namely the Lusail Tram project which is one of the pillars of the integrated transport system that we seek to achieve. And through all those consecutive achievements, we confirm that our projects are very well on track according to schedule and Qatar can look forward to an advanced future transport system.”

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The Lusail Tram project progress currently stands at 71 percent.
Engineer Abdulla Al Subaie, Qatar Rail’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said, “We have been working closely with Alstom over the past few months to ensure the completion of the manufacturing of Lusail tram trains and the FAT and take place as scheduled”.
“The testing completion of the first Lusail Tram train is a great testament to the joint efforts spent on both ends. We will be looking forward to receiving the first batch of the Lusail Tram trains this March,” he added.
Lusail Tram connects to the Doha Metro through two interchange stations at Lusail and Legtaifiya. The Lusail Tram Network, which will launch in 2020, is 28km long. The network includes three lines and 25 stations aboveground and underground.
The design of the Lusail Tram was inspired by “Al Mehmel”, which signifies “The Dhow” — the old traditional Qatari boat used for pearl fishing. The design concept focused on the sea representing dhow pearl fishing and bringing in the calm, cool, elegant and tranquil elements of that medium to the design. All these features will be depicted in the design of the trams. Trams are much more efficient in terms of road usage as one train replaces about 40 cars which take up a far larger area of road space.