SAUDI Railways Organisation (SRO) has awarded a contract to DB International to supervise infrastructure design work, rolling stock production, and project management for the 450km Mecca – Jeddah – Medina high-speed line.

DUBAI Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has reportedly finalised plans for the extension of its two existing driverless metro lines with the aim of completing both projects by 2020.

SAUDI Public Investment Fund, which is responsible for funding the construction of the 950km railway between the Red Sea port of Jeddah and the capital Riyadh to create a coast-to-coast landbridge, has awarded an eight-year contract consultancy contract to Fluor Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff.

DUBAI Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) signed a Dirhams 105m ($US 28.6m) contract with Serco, Britain, on September 14 for the operation of the Al Sufouh Tramway.

Richard Bowker, senior advisor at EC Harris and former CEO of Etihad Rail, UAE, tells Keith Barrow how Gulf States are rising to the challenge of building an interoperable regional network from the ground up.

ISRAELI transport minister Mr Yisrael Katz announced on August 13 that the National Infrastructure Committee has approved the initial phase of Israel Railways' (IR) national electrification programme.

ARRIYADH Development Authority (ADA) has appointed a joint venture of Parsons, Egis Rail, and Systra to supervise construction of the metro network in Riyadh.

TATA Steel has been awarded a contract to supply 60,000 tonnes of rail for the 444km Haramain high-speed line between Mecca, Jeddah, and Medina, which is currently under construction.

FOLLOWING an international tender, Saudi Railways Company (SAR) has awarded Italferr, the engineering subsidiary of Italian State Railways (FS), a €28m contract to design the Landbridge, Saudi Arabia's first rail link between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

ARRIYADH Development Authority (ADA) announced the winning bidders on July 28 for three design and build contracts worth almost $US 22.5bn for the construction of a 176.7km six-line automated metro network in the Saudi capital Riyadh.