SAUDI Railways Organisation (SRO) has awarded Talgo a contract worth around €200m to supply and maintain six 13-car diesel trains for Riyadh – Dammam services.

MEDINA Metro Development Authority (MMDA) has selected a consortium of Egis and Systra to carry out design studies for the planned 95km three-line metro network in the Saudi holy city of Medina.

The GCC member states are pushing ahead with plans to develop an integrated railway network between Oman and Kuwait. Kevin Smith reports from the GCC Metro and Rail conference in Muscat where the leading lights in the GCC railway industry gathered to discuss progress and the challenges facing this mammoth project.

METRO Jeddah, which was set up in March 2013 to implement an entire public transport network in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, involving metro, light rail, rail, buses and water taxis, will hold a project briefing day for consultants, contractors and suppliers in Jeddah on March 30.

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.

A feasibility study into the construction of a second causeway between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which will include the first rail link to Bahrain, will be completed in the first quarter of this year.

The reliable operation of diesel locomotives in desert conditions demands specific adaptations to cope with extreme temperatures, low humidity, and sand ingress. David Babinec, locomotive model line manager for EMD explains the development of motive power for some of the toughest environments on earth.

DELEGATES at this week's Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Rail and Metro conference, hosted by the Oman Ministry and Transport and Communications and the GCC Council, have agreed to prepare a detailed study for the creation of a development fund to promote sustainability in the GCC railway sector.

TICKETING supplier Indra has signed a € 266m contract to provide all ticketing and access control infrastructure for the new public transport network currently under construction in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

THE first 13-car Talgo 350 train for the 450km Mecca – Medina Haramain high-speed line was loaded onto cargo vessel the Jolly Quarzo at Barcelona docks on the morning of December 11 in readiness for its sea voyage to Saudi Arabia.