Manama: Education City in Qatar has announced plans to introduce a new rail system to help students get around and minimise traffic.
The gold and silver-coloured air-conditioned trains, built in the style of old steam locomotives, found in amusement parks, will have two routes.
One will transport students to Qatar Academy (QA) Junior School and the other to the QA Senior School.
Trains to travel to the Liberal Arts and Sciences building, as well as the Student centre are also planned for the future.
The small train station, to be built near Gate 5 of Education City, will hold up to 600 cars in its two parking areas, Qatari daily Gulf Times reported on Sunday.
The trains will alleviate traffic jams at peak times as parents drop off and collect their children.
"We will have five road trains at Education City, each with three coaches," said Khalifa Hamad Al Hajri, manager of the Planning and Development Department of Facilities Management Directorate.
Each train will have 90 seats, with windows of tinted and tempered glass to shield passengers from the sun.
They will run several times a day, especially at peak hours and will be monitored by supervisors and a CCTV monitoring system.
The train station will have an air-conditioned waiting lounge with more than 100 seats, a cafeteria, snacks and beverage vending machines, toilets and information screens.
The station will have seats outside as well, covered by a large stand-alone roof, to be used when the weather is fine.
Al Hajri said he hopes the new mini-railway will benefit students. "We hope that it will ease up the high amount of traffic around schools, give children enjoyment and excitement and educate them about public transport," he said.
There are also plans to use the train system for visiting students and tourists.
