The Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) took place at the Alstom factory in the French city of La Rochelle in the presence of HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed al-Sulaiti, Qatar’s ambassador to France Dr Khalid bin Rashid al-Mansouri, Qatar Rail managing director and CEO Abdulla al-Subaie and representatives from both companies.
In a statement, Qatar Rail said it would receive the first batch of trains in March, while the overall Lusail Tram project progress currently stood at 71%.
HE the minister with Qatar's ambassador to France and the Qatar Rail management.
The delegation undertook a tour of the Alstom factory during the visit. Alstom is one of the largest companies working in the manufacture of tram-trains with up to 2,400 Alstom light transit trains in use worldwide. It is currently working on manufacturing 28 Citadis trams and power generation equipment, in addition to signage works and railways.
The integrated low-floor train cars are convenient for passengers, being designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, the statement notes.
On the occasion, HE al-Sulaiti said: “We are very pleased to be here to witness yet another significant milestone in Qatar Rail’s projects, namely the Lusail Tram project, which is one of the pillars of the integrated transport system that we seek to achieve. And through all those consecutive achievements, we confirm that our projects are very well on track, according to schedule, and Qatar can look forward to an advanced future transport system.”
Commenting on the achievement, al-Subaie said: “We have been working closely with Alstom over the past few months to ensure that completion of the manufacturing of Lusail tram trains and the FAT take place as scheduled. The testing completion of the first Lusail Tram train is a great testament to the joint efforts made at both ends. We will be looking forward to receiving the first batch of Lusail Tram trains this March.”
Lusail Tram connects to the Doha Metro through two interchange stations at Lusail and Legtaifiya. The Lusail Tram Network, which will launch in 2020, is 28km long and includes three lines and 25 stations above ground and underground.
The design of the Lusail Tram was inspired by ‘Al Mehmel’, which signifies the dhow – the traditional Qatari boat used for pearl fishing. The design concept “focused on the sea representing dhow pearl fishing and bringing in the calm, cool, elegant and tranquil elements of that medium to the design”, Qatar Rail said, adding that all these features would be depicted in the design of the trams.
Informing that the Lusail Tram project progress currently stood at 71%, the statement added: “Further, trams are greener and cope better with traffic than buses. They are also much more efficient in terms of road usage as one train replaces about 40 cars which take up a far larger area of road space.”
