Qatar Rail, Msheireb Properties and Civil Defence officials at the groundbreaking ceremony for Msheireb Metro Station yesterday
The Msheireb Station, described by Qatar Rail as the flagship station of the Doha Metro, will be an underground interchange facility expected to be widely used by transfer passengers.
Located within Msheireb Properties’ landmark Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD), promoted as the world’s first sustainable downtown regeneration project, the station will have three intersecting lines.
The Green and Red lines are to be located in parallel at the upper level and the Golden line, underneath. The platform length is 120m.
The Green and Red line station size, including technical rooms and emergency exits, is 190m long and 60m wide. The Golden line station size, including technical rooms and emergency exits, will be 190m long and 30m wide.
The Msheireb Station has major construction interfaces with Phase 4 of the MDD development. Qatar Rail and Msheireb Properties have collaborated to ensure that the design of the station is harmonious with the latter’s aims and priorities.
A billboard with artist’s impressions of the proposed metro station at Msheireb Downtown Doha development is seen at the site yesterday during the groundbreaking ceremony. PICTURE: Nasar T K
Both the stakeholders have agreed to locate the Msheireb Station partially inside the MDD development boundary. A major entrance of the station complex and an entrance plaza will be located to the south of Wadi Msheireb Street.
Whereas the Red and Green lines will run parallel through the metro station at the same level in an approximate north-south direction, the Golden line crosses the alignment of the other two lines to create and X-type station.
The station is located between Al Diwan Station and Al Matar/B Ring on the Red line, and Al Adhawaa and Doha Souq on the Golden line.
The concourse level will be 15m below ground with direct connection to Msheireb Properties retail areas. The level will have retail and customer service areas provided and entrance points connecting MDD with the metro facilities.
The Red/Green line platform will be nearly 22m below ground and the Golden line platform about 33m below ground, with the latter having retail and customer services provided.
The Qatar Integrated Railway system is the key element of the country’s future network. It consists of four metro lines, tram transit, and high speed railway, in addition to dedicated freight rail links.
The planned integrated national railway system will unify all railways in Qatar and connect the country’s rail network to neighbouring countries to create the region’s first fully integrated railway system.
Doha Metro, with four lines, is designed to cover Greater Doha. In central Doha, the metro will be underground whereas in the outskirts it will be elevated and at surface level.
The long-distance passenger and freight rail will include high speed services from Doha to the proposed Qatar-Bahrain Causeway and to Saudi Arabia.
West Bay Transit, designed as part of that area’s urban development, will reduce congestion and increase accessibility to residential and business towers.
Lusail Light Rail, a comprehensive network with four colour-coded lines serving the under construction Lusail City, will have connections to Doha Metro.
Qatar Railways Company signed in August this year five contracts at a total cost of QR1.48bn to signal the beginning of the first phase of the state’s integrated railways project within the first quarter of 2013.
The first phase of the project to cover three milestones, constituting 129km of track including Red, Green and Golden lines, will focus on the highly populated coastal stretch of the country, linking Al Khor in the north down to Al Wakrah and Mesaieed in the south. The first phase is expected to complete by the last quarter of 2019, well ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.