Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) has announced that during the group stage of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023, from January 12 to 25, more than 3.1 million passengers used the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram with 3mn passengers using the metro and 113 thousand passengers using the tram.
The metro and tram services had significant turnout from the Asian Cup fans during the first fourteen days of the tournament, which featured 36 matches. These services played an instrumental role in providing a safe and reliable travel experience. Additionally, it facilitated access to various activation areas and key destinations around the city.
The total number of trips to and from the stadiums during this stage amounted to 535,000. The percentage of fans utilising the metro for transportation to the nine tournament stadiums reached 29%, whereas the percentage of those using the metro for access to stadiums within a walking distance from the metro network was 35%.
The opening day of the tournament-January 12 saw the highest ridership for an individual match via the metro, with 52% of fans opting for metro transport to attend the opening ceremony. Additionally, the day recorded the highest flow into a single metro station after the match, at Lusail QNB station, where the rate reached 320 passengers per minute—equivalent to the traffic flow of a 7-lane expressway.
On January 25, the network recorded its highest daily ridership during the group stage, with a total of 267,900 trips using the metro across its thirty-seven stations.
January 22 witnessed the shortest headway between trains operating since the beginning of the tournament, which was two minutes on the Gold Line to facilitate the movement of fans heading to the matches that were held simultaneously at Khalifa International Stadium and Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Doha Metro’s busiest stations during the group stage were Msheireb, DECC, and Souq Waqif.
Ajlan Eid Al Enazi, chief of Strategy and Business Development at Qatar Rail stated, “The group stage of the tournament highlighted a substantial number of fans opting for the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram for their daily commutes. We have developed operational plans to facilitate seamless movement of fans to reach the stadiums effortlessly. For instance, we have reduced the headway between trains to two minutes on the Gold Line, enabling fans to attend games held on the same day simultaneously using a single line.”
Qatar Rail developed a comprehensive operational plan, in coordination with various relevant entities and partners. Additionally, the metro's capacity was increased by operating the full fleet of 110 trains, including the 6-cars train on the Red Line. Furthermore, the train headway on all lines was reduced to three minutes before and after the matches to facilitate fans and visitors’ movement toward and the stadiums and other popular destinations around the city.
