Thales Wins Tech Contract For Qatar’s Lusail City Tramway Project

French multinational Thales announced that it has signed a contract with Qatari construction company QDVC to provide technology services for Qatar’s upcoming Lusail Light Rail Transit (LRT) System.

Under the deal, Thales will undertake the integrated supervision, telecommunications, security and automatic fare collection system for the system, it said in a statement.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Thales’s systems will provide services such as real-time information, contactless ticketing systems, security of passengers and an integrated supervision solution.

The contract also stipulates maintenance services and logistical support, it said.

The LRT is part of Qatar Railways Company Development Programme including the Doha Metro project and the Long Distance Passenger & Freight rail network. It will consist of four lines, covering 32 km, and serving 37 stations.

The main construction contract was awarded to a consortium of French firm Alstom and QDVC, jointly owned by Qatari Diar and VINCI Construction Grands Projets, in June last year.

QDVC recently signed a contract for the last phase of the LRT project development, having already carried out the design and excavation phase.

The tramway will service the new city of Lusail, located about 23 km north of Doha, which is estimated to house 260,000 people when ready.

The system is expected to enter commercial service from 2018.

Thales, which recently won the contract for the Doha Metro as part of a five-member consortium, has worked on other rail transportation projects in the region.

It has delivered integrated solutions for the Dubai Metro – the world’s longest driverless metro and ETCS main lines for Saudi Arabia’s North South Railway.

Thales has also provided an integrated signalling and supervision solution for the Mecca metro.