Qatar Rail has made significant progress in the construction of the Doha Metro project, with nearly 60 per cent of the total works on the four lines having been completed following the recent successful tunnelling of the entire 53.25-km stretch, said a report.

The operations contract of the project is likely to be awarded in the second quarter of 2017 and the first train would start running in the last quarter of 2019, reported The Gulf Times, citing a senior official.

Nearly 61.4 per cent of the work has been completed in the 13.6-km underground stretch of the Red Line from Lusail to Wakrah, and 66.5 per cent of the work on the 8.9-km Red Line South elevated route is now over, Markus Demmler, senior director of the Qatar Integrated Railway Project (QIRP), was quoted as saying in the report.

Work on the Lusail Light Rail Transit, comprising 32 km of lines and 35 stations, is slightly behind schedule with 44.8 per cent of the overall work done so far, he revealed.

“But we are very confident that the work would be ahead of the schedule shortly as it is fast catching up in different areas of the project,” added Demmler.

The total distance covered by the Doha Metro is a little more than 111 km. This is apart from the nearly 38 km of mainly underground light transit rail being developed in Lusail.

The electro-mechanical works have commenced in many of the stations on the four lines, stated the report.

Racing against time, Qatar Rail aims to make Lusail LRT operational by 2020, at least two years before the 2022 Fifa World Cup opening and final matches are to be played in the iconic stadium to be built in Lusail city.

"Qatar Rail will also be able to achieve the target set on the 486-km long distance rail operations, connecting the country with Saudi Arabia," stated Demmler.

"Work on the project, to be built in five phases and comprising 11 stations, is expected to kick off shortly and the first phase would be operational in 2019 as per the current schedule," he added.