Middle East – Page 26
-
News
Saudi Railway Company seeks operating concessionaire
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railway Company has invited expressions of interest for a concession to maintain and operate the North-South Railway, under a tendering process being supported by management consultancy A T Kearney. SAR is looking for national and 'world-class' international companies to take responsibility for train operations, infrastructure management and ...
-
News
DB International awarded Haramain High Speed Rail contract
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Railways Organization has formally awarded Deutsche Bahn's consultancy business DB International a 'mid double-digit million euro' contract to support the construction of the 444 km Haramain High Speed Rail project. The scope of the work includes reviewing conceptual, preliminary and detailed designs for the railway systems, including ...
-
News
Saudi Landbridge project management consultancy contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: The Public Investment Fund has appointed Parsons Brinckerhoff and Fluor Corp to provide project management consultancy services for the design and construction of the 950 km Landbridge railway planned to link Jeddah with Riyadh. At Riyadh the line would connect with the existing 450 km line to Dammam ...
-
News
Lebanese railway revival to be studied
LEBANON: Tenders for a study into the feasibility of rebuilding the disused railway from Beirut north along the coast to Tripoli are to be invited by the European Investment Bank during September. The standard gauge line linking Haifa, Beirut and Tripoli was built by Allied forces during World War II. ...
-
News
Israel Railways electrification plan approved
ISRAEL: A US$3·2bn programme to electrify 420 km of existing and planned railway was approved by the Committee for National Infrastructure on August 12. The first lines to be electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz would be the future 23 km 'Akko - Karmi'el route and Tel Aviv - Jerusalem ...
-
News
Saudi Landbridge design contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: The Ministry of Finance's Public Investment Fund has appointed the Italferr engineering consultancy subsidiary of Italian national railway group FS to undertake design work for the US$7bn Landbridge project. Development of the planned 950 km double-track mixed traffic line between Riyadh and Jeddah Islamic Port is being managed ...
-
Metro Report International
Riyadh metro construction contracts awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: Arriyadh Development Authority announced the winners of three turnkey contracts for the construction of a 176 km six-line driverless metro network in Riyadh on July 29. The overall budget for the metro is €16·3bn, making it one of the world’s largest public infrastructure projects. Design work is to ...
-
News
Light rail study in Masqat
OMAN: A feasibility study for a light rail or metro network in Masqat is to be commissioned shortly, according to local press reports. The Ministry of Transport & Communications and the Supreme Council for Planning are to develop proposals for a line which would provide an interchange ...
-
Metro Report International
Funding approved for Jerusalem light rail extension
ISRAEL: On June 26 the Jerusalem Regional Planning Committee approved a 1·1bn shekel allocation from the Transportation Ministry’s budget to extend the city’s light rail line from Mount Herzl to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Centre. Total spending on the project is expected to be 4bn shekels. Preparatory work has ...
-
News
DB joint venture to operate Etihad Rail freight trains
UAE: An agreement to create a joint venture to operate the rail network under construction in the United Arab Emirates was signed by Etihad Rail Vice-Chairman Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer and DB Schenker Rail CEO Alexander Hedderich on June 27. The first freight trains carrying granulated sulphur on the 266 ...
-
News
EU to support Cairo metro safety reform
EGYPT: A group of Spanish public bodies has been selected to provide technical and legal support to the Cairo metro on the reform of safety regulations, procedures and practice. The project is one of a series of twinning initiatives promoted by the EU to promote co-operation between EU member states, ...
-
News
Iran inaugurates railway to border with Turkmenistan
IRAN: President Ahmadinejad and Minister of Roads & Urban Development Ali Nikzad attended an event on May 27 to ceremonially inaugurate an 80 km railway linking the northern city of Gorgan with Incheh Borun on the border with Turkmenistan. The standard gauge line forms part of the Kazakhstan - Turkmenistan ...
-
News
Cairo - Alexandria resignalling contract awarded
EGYPT: Egyptian National Railways has awarded Thales a €109m turnkey contract to design, install and maintain new signalling, telecommunications and centralised traffic control systems for the 208 km Cairo - Alexandria route. Implementation is expected to take four years. Announcing the contract on May 26, Thales said the route is ...
-
News
ISR training centre now open
ISRAEL: Israel Railways opened a US$2·7m training centre at Lod station last month. The new facility is intended to fill a skills gap which has developed in recent years, and offers specially developed training programmes for railway employees including signallers, shunters and refuelling staff. It is equipped with advanced technological ...
-
News
Loan to fund Egyptian resignalling
EGYPT: The government has signed two loan agreements to fund resignalling to increase capacity on the Benha - Zagazig - Ismailia - Port Said route. Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development is to lend US$100m, and the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development is to lend US$150m Under ...
-
News
Qatar Railway Education Alliance partnership
QATAR: National railway development agency Qatar Rail, Qatar University and Deutsche Bahn's consultancy business DB International signed a memorandum of understanding for the formation of the Qatar Railway Education Alliance during the Business & Investment in Qatar forum held in Berlin on April 16. The three partners plan to establish ...
-
News
Etihad Rail takes delivery of EMD locomotives
UAE: The first two of seven SD70ACS locomotives which Electro-Motive Diesel is supplying for the initial phase of the national rail network have been unloaded at Mussafah Port in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Rail announced on April 10. The heavy freight locomotives are to be moved to Mirfa in the Western ...
-
News
Eilat alignment approved
ISRAEL: The National Council for Planning & Construction approved the full 260 km alignment for the proposed Eilat line on March 5, enabling detailed design to begin and costs and timescales to be finalised. This followed the Southern District Committee for Planning & Building’s approval for the Dimona – Hatzeva ...
-
News
Etihad Rail secures US$1·28bn funding package
UAE: A five-year loan worth US$1·28bn has been secured to finance the first phase of the national railway network, project promoter Etihad Rail announced on February 26. The loan is being financed on a club deal basis by National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Abu Dhabi ...
-
News
Hyundai Rotem cars ordered for Cairo Line 1
EGYPT: The National Authority for Tunnels signed an E£2·16bn contract on December 19 for Hyundai Rotem to supply 20 nine-car air-conditioned trainsets for Cairo metro Line 1. The national government will fund the purchase of the trains. Four trainsets will be manufactured in South Korea, with the rest assembled in ...