Tribune News Network

Doha

Qatar Railways company (Qatar Rail) has announced that the total number of passengers who used the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram networks during the first round of the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup (from January 12 to January 160 has reached 1,079,340. While 1,040,973 passengers used Metro, 38,367 passengers used the tram.

The networks witnessed high demand, particularly on the tournament’s opening day, featuring the Qatar vs Lebanon match at Lusail Stadium, which witnessed a high turn out during the first day of the tournament, 234,862 passengers were transported on the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram networks.

Ajlan Eid Al Enazi, Chief of Strategy and Business Development at Qatar Rail, stated, "During the first round of the Asian Cup, we observed a high demand on Doha Metro services to reach the tournament stadiums. This was especially notable given the opportunity for match ticket holders to receive a complimentary Day Pass. We would like to emphasize the importance of collecting the Day Pass at any station before the match day to save time. Additionally, the pass can be used throughout the day to travel to various destinations in the city of Doha, not just for attending the matches.”

The metro provided connectivity to key event areas and attractions such as Souq Waqif, Lusail Boulevard, Katara, and Al Bidda Park, where the Expo 2023 Doha Exhibition is being held, directly connected to Al Bidda and Corniche stations on the Red Line.

Doha Metro’s busiest stations were Lusail QNB, DECC and Msheireb, while Legtaifiya was the busiest stop along Lusail Tram.

Al Enazi added, "We are pleased with this successful start and are delighted to once again experience the enthusiasm and football passion with the Asian fans at the Doha Metro stations”.

For this tournament, Qatar Rail fully mobilized the entire fleet of 110 modern, comfortable, and secure Doha Metro trains. This includes the deployment of 6-carriage trains on the Red Line, doubling the capacity to 1,120 passengers per train, and offering a headway of 3 minutes between trains on all three lines not only during usual peak hours, but also before and after the match times.

The advanced systems adopted by Qatar Rail and close monitoring through the Command Suite play a major role in providing real-time information from the stations about the movement of passenger before and after the matches, to facilitate safe operations of the network, efficient and optimal movement of customers and to deliver a world class transport experience.

Periodic maintenance of the trains is also carried out daily after the end of the daily service hours, to ensure their safety and readiness for service the next day with the same efficiency required to transport the masses.

Qatar Rail has also deployed additional staff at stations to efficiently manage the flow of fans. A notable initiative is the provision of complimentary Day Passes to match-day ticket holders, enhancing the transportation experience for fans. These one-day tickets are available at any metro station.

Qatar Rail recommends that fans wishing to obtain the Day Pass to use the metro network should go to any of the metro station latest the day before the match to obtain their Day Pass to avoid queuing and save time when heading to the matches.

The Doha Metro network is uniquely positioned to support the Asian Cup stadiums connectivity and the venues for the events held during the tournament period, as the metro is directly connected to five of the nine stadiums designated for the tournament, which are Lusail QNB, Khalifa International, Ahmad bin Ali, Education City, and Jassim bin Hamad stadiums, through the Lusail QNB station, Sports City, Riffa Qatar Mall, Education City, and Sudan stations, respectively.

This connectivity is crucial in facilitating smooth fan movement between matches, particularly during the group stages. Stadiums that are not directly linked to the stations can be reached through the metro shuttle bus service provided by the local organizing committee.