Qatar Rail has started preparations to sign a slew of new contracts for the country’s ambitious rail network and is likely to issue tenders for Doha Metro facilities management and Lusail Tram in the first quarter of the year, said a report.

The metro network will be built over two phases and will include four lines. The first phase will cover 80 km across Doha, of which 63 km is underground, reported The Peninsula.

The Lusail Tram network, which is set to add another 38 km and an additional 37 stations, is due for completion in 2020. The first phase will see the Red, Gold and Green lines opening in 2019, with 37 stations and 75 km of revenue lines.

The second tender for operation and maintenance of Doha Metro and Lusail Tram would be offered in the second quarter of this year, followed by another for maintenance and operation of the facilities associated with the long-distance rail.

It will link all the GCC states.

The first phase of the Doha Metro project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019, while the completion of the Lusail Tram is scheduled for 2020, it stated.

Qatar Rail said it is also studying tenders for additional services such as information technology and commercial services for use by passengers in the trains, at the metro stations and in the light trains in Lusail City.

By 2030, all the three networks – Doha Metro, Lusail Tram and the long-distance rail – are expected to be completed and made part of a unified and integrated transport network covering different parts of Qatar.

The current contracts with consultants will end this July and new contracts would be signed for four years until June 2020, the report stated.

With the completion of the first phase of Doha Metro and Lusail Tram, Qatar Rail will offer 600,000 passenger trips per day by 2021, the report added.