THE governor of Riyadh Prince Khaled bin Bandar officially launched construction on April 3 of the six-line metro to be built in the Saudi capital.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) has received the first six of 72 push-pull double-deck coaches currently being built by Bombardier to serve new electrified services which will be introduced on the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem and Acre - Carmiel lines from 2018.

ETIHAD RAIL, the company responsible for developing and operating the railway network in the UAE, has signed a joint venture agreement with German Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Schenker Rail to operate and maintain the system.

ISRAEL's National Transport Infrastructure Company has awarded a Shekels 800m ($US 230m) contract for infrastructure works on three new lines to a consortium of Israeli companies Shikun & Binui and Leisco and German Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Bahnbau.

QATAR Railways, which is responsible for the construction of Doha's 354km four-line metro, has awarded a €506m contract to a consortium led by FCC, Spain, to build a section of the Red Line.

The Saudi capital Riyadh has set itself a daunting task: to build an automated metro comprising six lines simultaneously in five years. David Briginshaw explains how this ambitious project will be implemented.

PARSONS, in a joint venture with Systra, has secured a consultancy services contract for the design of Qatar's main line railway network.

CHINA Southern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation (CSR) formally presented the first of a fleet of ten diesel trains for Iraqi Republic Railways (IRR) to Iraq's ambassador to Beijing Dr Abdul Karim Mostafa and other dignitaries at the CSR Sifang plant in Qingdao on February 17.

DESIGN and planning of three extensions which will add 35.4km and 33 stations to Dubai's metro network is well underway, according to the acting CEO of Roads and Transport Authority's (RTA) Rail Agency, Mr Abullah Yousuf Al Ali.

PASSENGER traffic on Israel Railways increased by 12% from 40.4 million journeys in 2012 to 45.1 million last year, with traffic growing by 25% since 2009.