The opening of Doha Metro’s Gold Line is expected to encourage more people to exercise, walk and stay fit as public parks, sports and recreational facilities have become easily accessible. The newly-launched Gold Line with 11 stations, extends from Ras Bu Abboud to Al Aziziyah station and connects the Red Line (which has 13 out of 18 stations currently operating) at the Msheireb station (interchange), providing passengers with faster and cheaper transport to various destinations, including Aspire Park.


Residents and visitors will have easy access to Souq Waqif via Gold Line's Souq Waqif station, PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil

“Access to Aspire is a great idea, especially for people living on the other side of the city like West Bay, Lusail, and Wakrah areas, among others, connecting them all the way to these important facilities,” Qatar Extreme Sports (QES) founder Farhan al-Sayed, told Gulf Times. The Gold Line stations are: Ras Bu Abboud, National Museum of Qatar, Souq Waqif, Bin Mahmoud, Al Sadd, Joaan, Al Sudan, Al Waab, Sport City, Al Aziziyah and interchange station Msheireb. Cost for each trip will also remain QR2 in the standard and family class and QR10 in the gold class.


Farhan al-Sayed says Gold Line opening was very timely

Al-Sayed, also the president of the International Walking Football Federation Qatar, said the opening of “the Gold Line was very timely” as winter has set in, enticing more families and children to engage in various outdoor activities.
Aspire Park, one of the most popular destinations in Qatar for an array of recreational and sports activities, and walking, among others, is now a 10-minute walk from the Aziziyah station (located along Al Waab street, within the Villaggio Mall car parking area). It takes about 16 minutes to reach this station by the Metro from Msheireb.
Al-Sayed, noted that Aspire Park was the venue of two international sporting events, hosted by Qatar recently – the IAAF World Athletics Championships and a number of ANOC World Beach Games events such as skateboarding.
From November 26, he said the country will again be hosting another major sporting event, the Arabian Gulf Cup, which will take place at Aspire.
“Quite the right time to do outdoor activities, there is a lot of sporting facilities and parks here, which is one way of attracting youngsters and families to sports activities,” he said.
Al-Sayed cited Doha Metro’s key role in connecting key areas and soon, the football stadiums, in Qatar, “which is very important not just for sports lovers and players but also foreign visitors and fans.”
“The population in Qatar is expected to exceed 3mn probably in two or three years time, it is really helpful to have an infrastructure like Doha Metro and it is going to get things forward,” he said.
Al Bidda Park, which has also become easily accessible (through the Al Bidda station in the Red Line), is one of the favourite destinations for families and children.
This 2mn sqm park offers areas for sports and other physical activities such as basketball, tennis, and volleyball, besides having paths for biking, walking, and jogging. It also has many playgrounds for children to enjoy, including colourful playhouses, mini zip lines, merry-go-rounds, seesaws, children’s rope climbing, and spring riders, among others.
With the Red and Gold Lines now operating during the weekends, residents and visitors can go and have a walk or jog at the Doha Corniche via the Corniche station, and the Souq Waqif Park via the Souq Waqif station.
Once fully operational, with all Red, Gold, and Green Lines running, metro passengers will also be able to visit other parks such as the Oxygen Park in Education City.