A joint venture partnership of the French company Keolis and infrastructure asset management specialist, (RATP Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, which is the State owned public transport company in France) has been named the operator of the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram.
The appointment follows a highly rigorous process led by Qatar Rail, which involved extensive reviews of offers received from international bidders.
While announcing their selection yesterday, Qatar Rail has highlighted a number of yardsticks that led to the selection of KeolisRATP.
Reacting to the selection, HE the Minister of Transport and Communication and Qatar Rail vice chairman Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti, said: “Apart from such factors as their renowned track record, experience, well-designed staffing plans, their innovative approaches to the service delivery and strong transition experience have all been crucial factors in the selection of KeolisRATP.
"With a solid history of demonstrated improvements in on-time performance at other agencies and their global experience with implementing programmes and best practices to ensure the highest levels of fleet maintenance and vehicle appearance, we look forward to working with them in delivering and maintaining a state of the art transport system serving Qatar.”
Qatar Rail will remain accountable, and oversee the operation and maintenance of the network. Under the terms of the contract, the joint venture will see Keolis and RATP responsible for operating and maintaining both the Doha Metro and Lusail Tram. Qatar Rail will oversee all activities which will be the operational responsibility of Keolis and RATP. This will include the day to day running of both networks including operation of the control room, customer service provisions, security and revenue protection and roaming strain staff and drivers.
The partnership will also be responsible for the management of three depots on the metro system and one on the tram network. In addition, they will also be responsible for facilities management across the entire network including stations and depots including first line reporting and service recovery. Training and safety responsibilities of contract staff will also be responsibility of the joint venture.
