VOSSLOH Fastening Systems has been awarded a contract worth around €30m to supply rail fasteners for the 450km Haramain high-speed line between Mecca, Jeddah, and Medina, which is currently under construction.

ISRAEL Railways has completed a $US 186 million project to upgrade and double track the 20km Kiryat-Motzkin - Nahariya line, thereby creating a continuous double-track line for the first time from Beer-Sheva in the south via Tel Aviv and Haifa to Nahariya in the north.

THE governor of Mecca, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, has approved the construction of two new metro lines in the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca.

SAUDI Railways Organisation (SRO) has invited bids from consultants to study options for a high-speed line between the capital Riyadh and the Gulf port of Dammam.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) has launched the procurement process for its first electric trains by issuing a request for information (RFI) from potential suppliers of locomotives and multiple units.

OMAN is planning to commence construction of the country's inaugural railway project in the fourth quarter of 2014.

SERCO is to continue operating and maintaining the 75km Dubai metro network until at least September 2019 after signing a five-year contract extension with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

ISRAEL's Ministry of Transport, Israel Railways, and the municipality of Jerusalem are reportedly developing plans for a 2.5km extension of the new Tel Aviv – Jerusalem direct line, which is due to open in 2018, to Jerusalem Old City.

ISRAEL Railways has placed a Shekels 1.5bn ($US 421.7m) contract with Alstom to maintain its fleet of IC3 dmus for seven years, with an option for an eight-year extension.

THE $US 5.6bn project to extend the Israeli rail network south to the port of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba has received a boost following its approval by the Ministerial Committee for Internal Affairs and Services.