Middle East and African urban transport news
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Metro Report InternationalKing inaugurates Riyadh Metro ahead of public opening
SAUDI ARABIA: King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud officially inaugurated the Riyadh Metro as the future backbone of the capital’s public transport network on November 27. A phased opening to passengers is planned between December 1 and January 5.
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Metro Report InternationalAdaray suburban rail service launched
TURKEY: Republic Day on October 29 was marked by launch of Adaray suburban services between the city of Adapazarı and Arifiye, over an 8·5 km branch from the Istanbul – Ankara main line. Trains call at seven stations including four new single-platform stations built for the ...
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Metro Report InternationalKing Abdullah Financial District monorail contract signed
SAUDI ARABIA: Contracts have been awarded for the construction of a monorail within Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District mixed-use development. This is intended to reduce the need for private vehicles as part of the vision for a walkable ‘10 min city’. The 3·6 km elevated circular ...
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Metro Report InternationalCairo operator trials sign language services
EGYPT: Operator RATP Dev is trialling sign language services on the Capital Train line which connects Cairo with the New Administrative Capital. Instructional videos with sign language translation will be available at ticket offices and on platforms at Adly Mansour station, enabling passengers with hearing impairments ...
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Metro Report InternationalCasablanca tramway adds two lines
MOROCCO: Public services on tram routes T3 and T4 in Casablanca began on September 23 after an extended period of trial running over the summer. The city now has a network of 72·5 km with 110 stops. The fleet of Alstom Citadis trams has been expanded ...
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Metro Report InternationalCairo Metro Line 1 to be modernised
EGYPT: The National Authority for Tunnels has awarded a €850m contract for renovation of Cairo Metro’s Line 1 to a consortium led by Colas Rail with Orascom Construction and Hitachi Rail. Colas Rail and Orascom will modernise power supplies, catenary and electromechanical systems, with Hitachi Rail ...
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Metro Report InternationalMinistry of Transport to develop Samsun tram line
TURKEY: The national Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure is to take over responsibility for developing a planned tram line in the Black Sea port city of Samsun. The 10·2 km line with 11 stops would link the city’s main hospital (Şehir Hastanesi) with the existing 33 ...
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Metro Report InternationalConstruction starts on Istanbul’s next tram line
TURKEY: Construction has started on a 3·2 km section of tramway in central Istanbul, linking Feshane on tram Line T5 with Bayrampaşa Meydan. Known as the Eyüpsultan – Bayrampaşa Tramway, the route will form a tangential link between the existing T5 light ...
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Metro Report InternationalTel Aviv and Jerusalem metro plans make progress
ISRAEL: The Knesset voted to approve the bill authorising the Tel Aviv metro project on July 25, and the Ministry of Transport has given Jerusalem municipality approval to begin planning a metro. The 150bn shekel Tel Aviv project comprises three lines totalling 150 route-km with 109 ...
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Metro Report InternationalBaghdad metro project consortium selected
IRAQ: An international consortium has been selected to negotiate a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer contract for the long-planned Baghdad metro project, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani has announced. On July 25 Al Sudani chaired a meeting to receive the accreditation of the ...
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Metro Report InternationalBaghdad metro consultancy contract awarded
IRAQ: The city of Baghdad has awarded a contract for the provision of project management and supervision services for the US$17·5bn metro project. The contract has been awarded to a 50:50 joint venture of Malaysian company HSS Engineering and its UAE-registered long-term collaborative partner Consultant HSS. ...
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Metro Report InternationalAbuja metro services relaunched
NIGERIA: President Bola Tinubu relaunched passenger services on the Abuja metro on May 29, when he announced that travel would be free until the end of the year. His predecessor had launched a limited passenger service in 2018, but it was suspended in 2020 because of ...
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom to support Kinshasa urban rail project
DR CONGO: Alstom has signed a memorandum of understanding to co-operate with Africa Finance Corp in the development of the 300 km MetroKin urban rail project in fast-growing Kinshasa.
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Metro Report InternationalHaifa to Nazareth light rail contract signed
ISRAEL: The €1bn PPP contract to design, finance, build, operate and maintain the 41 km Nofit Light Rail inter-urban line between Haifa and Nazareth has been signed by the HN - Light Rail Line Ltd consortium and project promoter Trans Israel. The consortium of Alstom and ...
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Metro Report InternationalCairo metro line 3 Phase 3C opens
EGYPT: Phase 3C of Cairo metro Line 3 opened for passenger services on May 15. The extension runs 7 km from Kit-Kat to Cairo University in Giza with three underground and two elevated stations, and takes Line 3 to 41·2 km with 34 stations in total. ...
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Metro Report InternationalLusail tram extensions open
QATAR: Two more sections of the Lusail Tram network north of Doha were opened on April 8, adding a further 10·4 route-km. The Orange Line has been extended by 7·6 km from Al Wessil to Rawdat Lusail, serving 10 new stops. North ...
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Metro Report InternationalLocal elections prompt flurry of Istanbul metro openings
TURKEY: Four extensions to existing metro lines have been opened in Istanbul to coincide with the municipal elections which took place at the end of March. On March 11, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated a seven-station southern extension of line M3 from Kirazlı to Bakırköy Sahil on ...
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Metro Report InternationalRail skills and innovation collaboration
UAE: A strategic partnership to develop rail sector skills and innovation in the UAE and the wider region has been agreed by Dubai metro and tram operator Keolis MHI and the UK’s University of Birmingham, which has a campus in Dubai. Students will be offered internships ...
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Metro Report InternationalEasier ticket gates for Paris and Egypt
TICKETING: One of the 1 200 custom-designed ticket gates that Easier is supplying for the Grand Paris Express automated metro project was on show at the Transport Ticketing Global event in London. Sales Director Alain Combette told Metro Report International that the ...
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