A full-size mock-up of a Metropolis train for lines 4, 5 and 6 of the Riyadh metro was presented in the Saudi capital by Alstom on June 8 to the governor of Riyadh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the transport minister HE Suleiman Al Hamdan.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) has invited bids by June 30 for a 10-year contract to design, build, test, commission, and maintain a radio communications system for the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem A1 fast rail link.

TEL AVIV Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NTA), the public company responsible for developing the city's light rail network, published a tender on May 15 for the operation and maintenance of the Red Line.

ACCORDING to Spain's minister of public works, Mrs Ana Pastor, Saudi Arabia has granted the Spanish-Saudi Al-Shoula consortium an extra 14 months to complete the Haramain high-speed project.

QATAR Rail (QR) has terminated its contact with the consortium building the main stations for the $US 17.8bn Doha metro project.

OMAN's plans to build a railway to connect with its neighbouring Gulf states has been put on hold, according to the director of the Minister for Transport and Communications' office Mr Mohammed Al Shuaili.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) and the Israeli transport and finance ministries are considering a recommendation by Louis Berger Group to construct a 26km twin-bore rail tunnel beneath Tel Aviv to double rail capacity through the city.

QATAR Railways (QR) has unveiled the designs for the Doha metro and Lusail light rail vehicles, which are due to enter service in 2020.

Commercial operations officially began on the UAE's inaugural main line railway at the start of the year. Kevin Smith spoke exclusively with Shadi Malak, acting CEO of Etihad Rail DB, and Niko Warbanoff, CEO of DB International, about the challenges of operating this remarkable line.