Qatar Rail, the company overseeing the construction of the country's integrated railway network, has signed a contract with Qatar Cool to provide district cooling services at seven of the Doha Metro Red Line stations.

A leading provider of environment-friendly district cooling services, Qatar Cool will offer district cooling services at the Pearl and West Bay stations (Legtaifiya, Katara, Al Qassar, Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, West Bay, Corniche and Al Bidda stations).

The deal aims to proactively contribute to cooling measures during the summer months starting 2019, the projected operation date of the Doha Metro project (Phase One), said Qatar Rail CEO Saad Ahmed Al Muhannadi after signing the agreement with Qatar Cool CEO Yasser Salah Al Jaidah.

The Qatar Rail move is aimed at supporting the environment and saving electricity and additional cost.
 
Through district cooling, chilled water is delivered via underground isolated pipelines to commercial, hotel and residential buildings to cool the buildings' water via an energy transfer station (ETS) which is situated in the basement of each building within a district.

The ETS in each building then uses the building's water to lower the temperature of air passing through the building's air-conditioning system, comprising fan coil units (FCU) or air handling units (AHU).
Cooling systems will operate throughout the other stations and on the trains themselves to ensure that customers enjoy the height of comfort when using the network.

Al Muhannadi said Qatar Rail has always sought to work with the best local suppliers and partners on every aspect of each of its projects to achieve the implementation of a sustainable railway network.

"We have the pleasure to cooperate with Qatar Cool to provideseven stations on the project with a district cooling system that won’t only withstand the hot weather during summer peak times in Doha, but also contribute to protecting the environment by increasing energy efficiency and reducing environmental emissions, saving electricity, and evidently benefiting from a much more cost-efficient cooling service with an economic interest on the longer term," he stated.

On the contract win, Al Jaidah said: "We take great pride in being part of Qatar Rail’s story.  The benefits that the Qatar Rail system will bring to our country by providing an environment-friendly, safe, fast and very efficient means of transportation are clear and necessary for our growing population."

"District cooling’s advantages are increasingly being recognised by governments, developers and end-users alike. It is an honour to say Qatar Cool is playing a fundamental role in Qatar’s sustainable and environmental fortification. We are committed to supporting Qatar and Qatar Rail throughout their journey," he added.-TradeArabia News Service