IRJ at Middle East Rail, Dubai: Saudi Railway Company (SAR) confirmed on March 12 that it expects to launch tenders “soon” for contracts to build the 950km Landbridge, which will link Riyadh with Jeddah on the Red Sea coast.

THE 28km freight-only line linking Bad Bentheim and Neuenhaus will have its passenger service reintroduced in December, 44 years after they were withdrawn by German Federal Railways, following an agreement signed in Verden on March 13.

CALIFORNIA High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has published its draft 2018 business plan which acknowledges cost increases of 20-35% for each segment of the new railway and extensions to completion dates.

FINLAND’s Ministry of Transport and Communications has selected a route from Rovaniemi via Sodankyla to Kirkenes in northeastern Norway for further study. The 450km railway would cost around €2.9bn to construct.

COPENHAGEN metro authority Metroselskabet has signed construction contracts for the 4.5km Sydhavn metro extension, allowing work on the project to begin immediately.

BRITAIN’s infrastructure manager, Network Rail (NR) has published a Prior Information Notice through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for a tender to let track works contracts starting next year. The contracts will be worth up to £5bn over 10 years.

FOLLOWING a tender launched in 2016, Danish State Railways (DSB) has selected Siemens to supply 26 Vectron dual-voltage locomotives with an option for an additional 18 units. A contract cannot be awarded until DSB receives approval from the Parliamentary Finance Committee.

IRJ at Middle East Rail, Dubai: The United Arab Emirates has reaffirmed its commitment to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Railway project, confirming that it will complete its connection to the Saudi network within four years.

A €50m contract has been awarded by Metroselskabet, Denmark, to Hitachi Rail Italy for an additional eight driverless trains for operation on lines M1 and M2 of the Copenhagen light metro.

BARCELONA Metropolitan Transport (TMB) has decided to award two contracts for 12 five-car trains worth €92m to CAF and Alstom to increase capacity on the metro by up to 20%. Delivery is scheduled to start in the second half of 2019.