The much awaited Doha Metro is now nearly two months old with almost all the city dwellers akin to the Red line that was put into operation on May 8.
The Launch of the Doha Metro literally not just brought places closer but even commuters and communities alike. It was heartening to see a Qatari family sit beside a Sri Lankan family in the gold class and a young Qatari kid clench the Doha metro information pamphlet as well as a young kid use the self-help service at the ticketing counter with the assistance of his father. There were over 40,000 people who took the metro in the first week of its operations. It takes approximately 30 minutes from the Wakrah Metro Depot to the last (presently operating) stop on the red line which is the Qassar Depot; the last stop is actually the Lusal Depot but was not in operation on May 8. When fully operational, it will also connect to the Hamad International Airport. The feeder buses were also put in to operation from day one whereby commuters could use this transport facility to get closer to their final destination– be it their home or the place they are visiting.
The red line of Doha Metro runs for approximately 40 kms in its entirety from Wakrah to Lusail and has 18 metro stops the major ones being Katara, West Bay and Qatar University. The Msheireb Metro Stop, which is also named as the Souq Waqif stop, will be the hub as it will connect with the other two lines, Green and Gold, in the near future.On my journey I was pleasantly surprised to meet the German Ambassador to Qatar Hans-Udo Muzel who proudly showed me his ticket that he purchased and was doing a recce to showcase how the football fans will use the metro during Qatar 2022.
— Text and photos by Bosco Menezes
@bigbfotografi
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