The passenger train being inaugurated by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker and Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of HIA, yesterday. Pics: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula.
The dual-track passenger train inside Qatar’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) terminal was officially launched yesterday. The five-car Automated People Movers (APM), with a capacity to move 190 passengers per train, will start full operations from today.
The introduction of the new service at the airport will not only enhance passenger experience but also significantly speed up passenger travel time within the terminal for both arriving and departing passengers.
The passenger trains were officially inaugurated by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, and Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of HIA, in the presence of dignitaries from the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
“We are making the HIA the most preferred destination for passengers by introducing innovative ways to move people around. This will facilitate passengers to have easy access to the expanded facilities, which should be starting from the beginning of next year,” Al Baker told The Peninsula on the sidelines of the event.
The two trains will shuttle between the South and North nodes of the terminal, significantly reducing travel time through the airport for both arriving and departing passengers, which includes transfer passengers. They will be operated simultaneously in a synchronised manner 24 hours a day. Each trip between the two stations takes 90 seconds, with a 44-second waiting time at each station.
Approximate walking time for the same distance is nine minutes. The passenger trains have become operational after the Ministry of Transport and Communications provided HIA with an Operational Safety Certificate. This certificate establishes that HIA has met the railway safety regulation requirements, to the satisfaction of the Ministry, for commencement of passenger service.
The Ministry has worked with HIA over the past few months through the safety certification process to ensure that HIA, the operator of the passenger train, achieves compliance with regulations in Qatar, has an effective safety management system and the appropriate competency and capacity to implement safety systems to ensure safe railway operations.
Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport, said: “We are proud to introduce this latest service at our airport with the help and support of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the New Doha International Airport Steering Committee.”
