FILE PHOTO: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula
The Doha Metro looks forward to welcoming fans of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020. The tournament which kicked off yesterday will run until February 11 at Ahmad bin Ali and Education City Stadiums. Fans can travel to Ahmad bin Ali Stadium via Al Riffa Station on the Green Line. Education City Stadium is also accessible on the Green Line through Education City station. Both stadiums are located within walking distance of the Doha Metro stations. Doha Metro Green Line is expected to see a large turnout of customers and fans; therefore, customers are advised to pre-plan and leave extra time for their journey. To avoid crowds, the customers can benefit from Doha Metro’s Plan My Journey tool through the Qatar Rail mobile app or Doha Metro website and arrive at the station in advance of their planned departure time. In light of COVID-19 guidelines, metro services are currently running at 30% capacity to enable social distancing.
In preparation for the upcoming events, public access to stations will be arranged to avoid crowding at ticket vending machines, entry gates, and train platforms. Chief of Strategy & Business Development at Qatar Rail Ajlan Eid Al Enazi said, “The Doha Metro witnessed a remarkable turnout from the fans during the previous tournaments, as its stations are conveniently located to the stadiums. Besides, the metro is considered an ideal alternative for travel during events to avoid traffic congestion & parking issues. During these events, a considerable amount of effort is spent on crowd control to ensure all users’ safety on the network. “These sporting events represent an important opportunity for us to test the operational readiness and preparations for the upcoming key tournaments, especially the 2022 World Cup,” Al Enazi added. Additionally, Qatar Rail recommends purchasing prepaid Travel Cards through approved sales outlets such as Al Meera, Lulu, Carrefour, Jumbo Electronics, Family Food Center, and the Talabat mart mobile app. Goldclub Travel Cards are available at Goldclub centres at all metro stations.
These reusable cards provide a contactless payment service and help limit touchpoints during the trip. Customers can also recharge their card in advance of their journey, using their debit or credit cards via the website (qr.com.qa) or Qatar Rail mobile app. In cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MoTC), Qatar Rail remains committed to implementing precautionary and operational measures, placing users’ safety as the top priority. Upon entering the station, customers will be required to show their “Ehteraz” health status and adhere to temperature checks. Only individuals with green health status and registering temperatures below 37.8°C will use the metro.
Customers are advised to ensure that their mobile phones are adequately charged to show the Ehteraz App when entering the Doha Metro. Moreover, everyone must wear facemasks on entering the premises and throughout their journey. To this end, on-ground security and customer service staff will closely monitor compliance with all measures. Any person failing to comply with the safety measures will not be permitted to enter and asked to leave. Doha Metro also reminds customers to adhere to social distancing rules by following the instructional stickers located throughout the stations.
