PUBLIC services began on October 11 on the first phase of the metro network in the Iranian city of Shiraz.

THE final breakthrough of the second bore of the 11.6km tunnel on the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem A1 fast rail link took place on October 6, marking completion of tunnelling on the project.

FOLLOWING the establishment of a new railfreight subsidiary, the Railfreight Company, as a legal entity in July, Israel Railways (IR) has begun the process of recruiting a general manager for the company, which IR forecasts will record Shekels 400m ($US 117m) in annual revenues by 2020.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) says it is on course for a profitable year following a significant improvement in first-half financial performance and traffic figures.

ARRIYADH Development Authority has appointed Lloyd's Register Rail to act as independent safety assessor (ISA) for the $US 22.5bn Riyadh metro project.

THE United Arab Emirates' federal government will fund the second phase of the country's railway network, which is set to be built by Etihad Rail, the company's acting CEO confirmed this week.

IRANIAN Islamic Republic Railways (RAI) says it has completed the rollout of Automatic Train Control (ATC) on the Tehran – Mashhad line as part of a broader programme to deploy the system on the Iranian network.

SAUDI Railways Organisation (SRO) has awarded a Riyals 6m ($US 1.6m) contract to a consortium of Spanish consultants led by Consultrans to study options for a high-speed line linking Riyadh and Dammam.

THE president of Saudi Railways Organisation (SRO), H E Mohamed Al-Suwaiket, has signed a Riyals 122.9m ($US 32.8m) contract with China Railway Construction Corporation for the renewal of a 78.4km stretch of the Damman – Harad – Riyadh freight line.

WITH testing now well underway, Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that Dubai's inaugural light rail line, the Al Sufouh Tramway, will open to passengers on November 11.