​As part of its readiness for the World Cup 2022, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) held its second town hall & stakeholders meeting under the theme of “Safe and Effective Crowd Management at Metro stations", at Le Royal Meridien Hotel.

The town hall was attended by H.E Dr. Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Managing Director & CEO of Qatar Rail, H.E Eng. Yasir Jamal, Director General of SCDL & Chairman of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Executive Committee, Eng. Hamad Isa Abdulla, Acting Asst. Undersecretary of Land Transport Affairs at the Ministry of Transport and Lieutenant Colonel Salem Al- Naimi, Director of transportation Security Department at Ministry of Interior,

In addition to RKH -the operator of Doha Metro- key shareholders reversatives including Mr.  Jean Pierre Farandou, SNCF Chairman and CEO, Bernard Tabary, Keolis Group International CEO, Mr.  Jean Yves Leclercq, RATP Group CEO, Mrs. Hiba Fares, RATP Dev CEO and other senior re senior officials from Ministry of Transport, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and Ministry of interior as well as Qatar Rail management team and staff.

This town hall meeting is one of a series of staff and management town halls and workshops held under Qatar Rail readiness program for the World Cup 2022, as Doha Metro will play an instrumental role in the tournament transport connecting fans and visitors to stadia and key destinations in Qatar.

H.E Dr. Abdulla bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie, Managing Director & CEO of Qatar Rail, said: “This meeting comes as we are less than two months away from the start of the World Cup 2022. Qatar Rail is on track with its readiness and preparations for this event, as the Doha Metro is a key component in the integrated transport plan for this global event hosted by the State of Qatar".

“The Doha Metro started operations in 2019.  Our state-of-the-art driverless system was specifically designed and built to handle large numbers of passengers, and to handle major events.  The Doha Metro has already been tested through several large events.  We have incorporated the lessons learnt from these events in a systematic and controlled way to enhance performance. Also, under our preparations for the tournament we have developed station plan for each station under our networks.

He added “Hosting any major event requires coordination across a broad and complex landscape of stakeholders.  Crowd management is the key success for a safe and smooth travel experience, and this cannot be achieved without the close coordination, joint efforts and the support of our stakeholders."

The event started with synopsis on the importance of crowd management, then followed by a panel discussion which addressed four key topics: crowd management at events, management of key risks, emergency preparedness, and crowd controls in place for the World Cup 2022.

 His excellency, Qatar Rail MD and CEO was joined by the senior panelists from SCDL, MoI, MoT and railway experts from RKH shareholders companies to discuss the session key topics and highlighted the importance of crowd management in the success of major events and to provide a safe travel experience during these events.

The panel was followed by a presentation on Role of Operation of Metro Command and Control Centre which gave an overview on the center's role in crowd management.

RKH is responsible for operating and maintaining Doha Metro and Tram Lusail networks, the company works hand in hand with Qatar Rail to ensure safe and effective crowd management at the stations and ensuring the delivery of a seamless and a safe travel experience during the World Cup 2022.

In July 2022, Qatar Rail organized its first town hall staff, stakeholders, and consultants meeting, under the theme of “Transport Management for Mega Events", which included several sessions on the readiness of Doha Metro services for major events, and the main challenges of hosting the upcoming World Cup Qatar 2022.