The deal, which was formally signed by Dr Rüdiger Grube, CEO and chairman of the DB management board, in the presence Qatari head of government Sheikh Al Thani and German transport minister Dr Peter Ramsauer, establishes the Qatar Railways Development Company (QRDC), in which DB will hold a 49% stake and state-owned Qatari Diar the remaining 51%.

QRDC will be responsible for planning and managing construction for a new four-line metro in Doha, as well as a mainline network. It has a budget of €700 million.

A three-stage plan is already in place for construction, which in addition to the four-line metro, will create a 325km rail network and establish a 180km, 350km/h international link to Bahrain and a 100km, 200km/h link to Saudi Arabia.