ONE of the first Siemens Avenio LRVs for Qatar's Education City light rail line has been transferred from Siemens' Simmering plant in Vienna to the nearby Rail Tec Arsenal climatic chamber for testing.

ETIHAD Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE's national railway network, has officially handed over the operations control centre in Mirfa to Etihad Rail DB, a joint venture between Etihad Rail and DB Schenker.

OMAN Rail has received bids from 11 consortia for the civil works contract for the first phase of its railway network, a 207km link from Sohar to Buraimi on the UAE border in the north of the sultanate, which makes up Oman's section of the GCC railway network.

TEL AVIV Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NTA) has issued an international tender notice for a contract to design and build tunnels and station boxes for the 24km light rail Red Line.

SAUDI Railway Company (SAR) has awarded a £120m five-year contract to provide operational management and technical support services on the North-South Railway to a British consortium of Serco Group, Network Rail Consulting, and railfreight operator Freightliner.

QATAR Railways sent a conditional letter of acceptance on February 20 to its preferred bidder for a turnkey contract to supply electrical and mechanical systems including rolling stock for the first phase of the Doha metro network.

ETIHAD Rail has signed an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to cooperate on railway alignments, station locations, and to define contractural and operational requirements for both partiess as Etihad Rail progresses with the development of the second stage of the UAE's 1200km network.

OMAN's Ministry of Transport and Communications has awarded a consortium led by Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas a $US 149m contract for project management consultancy on the 207km first phase of Oman's proposed 2135km railway network.

RIDERSHIP on Israel Railways (IR) services increased for the third successive year in 2014, according to figures released by the railway on February 1, which show passenger numbers rose by 7.5% year-on-year to 48.5 million.

THE A1 high-speed rail link between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem moved one step forward on February 5, with the announcement that Electra Bögl JV group has been awarded the Shekels 755m ($US 195m) contract to design, build, and maintain the track and systems of the A1's tunnels and bridges.