Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, and Minister of Transport of the Republic of Iraq Nasser Hussein Bandar Al Shibli, visited Doha Metro project where they were briefed on the operations of the metro stations, and also about the components of the project from officials at the Qatar Railways Company (Rail).
The Minister of Transport, during his meeting earlier today with the Iraqi Minister of Transport, reviewed aspects of cooperation in the fields of transportation, maritime transport, ports and civil aviation, and ways to enhance them.
Qatari media reports said the total number of passengers who used the Doha Metro during the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 exceeded 2.5mn with an average of 130,000 passengers daily, the Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) announced on December 19.
Qatar hosted the FIFA Arab Cup from November 30 to December 18, 2021.
According to Qatar Rail, the Doha Metro operated 50,000 trips during the tournament, covering 885,000km, and the average time between trains was 2.5 minutes in one line in one direction.
Around 250,000 passengers used the metro during the Qatar National Day, which also witnessed the holding of the finals and runner-up matches for the FIFA Arab Cup 2021.
Qatar Rail noted that one of the most important achievements in the preparations for the recently held tournament was the uploading and testing of 210,000 Haya cards (Fan ID) in three weeks.
Engineer Abdulla Saif al-Sulaiti, chief of Service Delivery at Qatar Rail, said: ”We gained the confidence of 2.5mn passengers throughout the tournament, which reflects the growing confidence of residents and visitors in the Doha Metro, and confirms our operational readiness to receive and serve the guests of the World Cup Qatar 2022”.
As part of its unprecedented preparations, Doha Metro extended its operational hours, as it was 21 hours a day throughout the week, except for Friday, when the working hours were 18 hours.
During the 2022 World Cup and beyond, Doha Metro is expected to provide an easy and safe way to transport visitors of Qatar across the country, as well as being a convenient mode of transport for five of the eight stadiums that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup matches.
