ETIHAD Rail has awarded a project management consultancy contract to Egis, France, to assist with the expansion of the existing 264km line linking Ruwais and Habshan on the Persian Gulf with Shah.

The first section of the $US 8bn 2750km North-South Railway has been in operation since 2011. Commissioning of the rest of the railway will start next year, and as David Briginshaw reports, Saudi Railway Company is already turning its attention to its next big rail project, the 950km Landbridge.

Saudi Railways Organisation has a lot on its plate. It is upgrading its existing railway in the east of Saudi Arabia, overseeing the construction of the Haramain high-speed line in the west, and developing plans for a second high-speed line and the Saudi part of the Gulf Railway. David Briginshaw visited SRO's headquarters in Dammam to find out how the work is progressing.

TALKS started last month between a group of 20 private companies and the Bahrain government regarding a build, operate, transfer (BOT) scheme to build a 90km, 350km/h railway from the Bahrain capital Manamah to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which is the terminal of the existing line from Riyadh.