Gulf’s largest tramway system enters commercial service

Alstom, a global provider of rail transport and sustainable mobility solutions, has announced that the first tramway in Qatar has entered commercial service in time for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

In a statement, Alstom said that the project is the largest tramway system in the Gulf region, with a network length of 28km – 7km of which is underground. The new transportation system will serve Lusail, a new city located north of the capital Doha, and will connect to Doha Metro. 

The tramway will have 25 stations within Lusail and provide an environmentally friendly mobility option for residents. It consists of 28 Citadis X05 new generation trams which have a capacity of 209 passengers and each 32m-long tram comprises five modules per single unit and are fully low floor to enable easier access for all passengers, as well as eco-friendly with fully electric braking systems.

"As Qatar welcomes the World Cup this year, we are proud to deliver the first catenary-free tramway in the country and a system that will provide efficiency, availability, and easier maintenance. Alstom is committed to Qatar’s economic growth and development, and will continue to support the National Vision 2030, through the enhancement of infrastructure and the supply of sustainable solutions such as the Lusail Tramway,” said Tamer Salama, Managing Director of Qatar and UAE at Alstom.

Alstom, as part of the LRTC Consortium (a consortium comprised of Alstom and QDVC, a Qatari shareholding company in charge of civil works) was awarded the contract by Qatar Railways Company in 2014. It was tasked with supplying a turnkey tramway system that is catenary-free above ground, the statement explained.

Alstom’s role in the consortium was to provide the design, manufacturing and commissioning of 28 Citadis trams, track works including hardscaping, power supply equipment (Bulk and TPS substations, catenary and APS), and Urbalis 400 CBTC signalling as well as platform screen doors. 

The Citadis X05 model offers operators options in terms of design and configuration and is 98% recyclable, it added.

Several Alstom sites were involved in the project including Aix-en-Provence, Le Creusot, La Rochelle, Ornans, Tarbes and Villeurbanne in France and Barcelona in Spain. 

More than 3,000 vehicles of the Citadis range have been sold in 60 cities worldwide. Citadis trams have covered over 1 billion kilometres and transported nearly 10 billion passengers since the first tram entered service in 2000. Along with Lusail, Citadis X05 has been sold in cities such as Sydney, Paris, Nice, Avignon, Caen, Athens, Frankfurt, Cologne and Casablanca.

McDermott wins QatarEnergy offshore contract

McDermott International has won a "mega offshore contract" from QatarEnergy, a long standing key customer, to deliver engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for the North Field East (NFE) Topsides and the North Field East (NFE) Offshore Pipelines and Subsea Cables projects, with an option included to also award the North Field South (NFS) Offshore Topsides.

Samik Mukherjee, McDermott's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said it is a perfect example of McDermott's Offshore shallow water strategy using its FEED (front-end design) expertise to develop an optimised 'design one, build many' concept for offshore structures.

"As part of the NFE LNG complex, the offshore facilities are an essential contributor toward the energy transition goals of COP-26 ... we will continue to use our digital carbon footprint tool, ArborXD, to monitor and proactively manage GHG emissions during the project. The structures delivered from our yard in Batam will be the first to be fabricated there following our recent commitment to import a low-carbon or renewable power into the facility."