Middle East – Page 19
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NewsALE delivers Saudi trainset
SAUDI ARABIA: Specialist heavy-lift logistics company ALE has delivered the first two of the six trainsets which Saudi Railway Co has ordered from CAF for use on the North–South line. In the latest shipment, the nine coaches and two 100 tonne diesel-electric locomotives forming one complete trainset were delivered from ...
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Metro Report InternationalJerusalem light rail Green Line approved
ISRAEL: Tenders are to be called ‘soon’ for the construction of two more light rail lines in Jerusalem, following the municipality’s approval at the end of June of the alignment of the proposed Green Line and the start of the approvals process for the Blue Line. The 19·6 km alignment ...
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Metro Report InternationalTracklaying starts on Riyadh metro
SAUDI ARABIA: A ceremony on June 8 marked the completion of tunnelling work on Line 5 of the Riyadh metro, when TBM Dhafrah broke through at the site of station 5B3. Governor of Riyadh Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Transport Minister Suleiman Al Hamdan were among ...
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NewsHaramain High Speed Rail opening delayed
SAUDI ARABIA: The completion date for the Haramain High Speed Rail line has been put back by a further 14 months from January 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, Spain’s Development Minister Ana Pastor said on May 10. Pastor also said Saudi Arabia had agreed to bring its payments ...
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NewsHeliopolis tramway revival memorandum signed
EGYPT: The Ministry of International Co-operation and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development have signed a memorandum of understanding which could lead to EBRD contributing US$250m to a planned US$500m rehabilitation of the out-of-use Heliopolis tramway between Ramses station and the Almaza district of Cairo. The memorandum is an ...
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NewsALE to deliver wagons to Saudi Arabia
SAUDI ARABIA: Specialist heavy-lift logistics contractor ALE has been appointed to deliver 1 186 molten sulphur and phosphoric acid tank wagons which Greenbrier's Wagony Swidnica subsidiary in Poland is building for Saudi Railway Co under a contract announced in October 2015. The wagons are being built to US standards ...
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NewsSiemens to modernise Egyptian signalling
EGYPT: Siemens has finalised a contract to supply Egyptian National Railways with signalling equipment for the Zagazig - Abu Kebir and Benha - Port Said routes, a total of 260 km with 21 stations. Commissioning is scheduled for 2020. The existing mechanical interlockings are to be replaced with centrally-controlled electronic ...
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NewsIsrael Railways expands double-deck fleet
ISRAEL: Israel Railways has exercised an option for an additional 60 Bombardier Transportation Twindexx Vario push-pull coaches, and called tenders for the supply and maintenance of 60 double-deck electric multiple-units. The €106m firm order announced on March 21 has been placed within an October 2010 framework contract with Bombardier. ...
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NewsTülomsaş looks east for export orders
TURKEY: State-owned rolling stock supplier Tülomsaş says it is optimistic about winning more export business in Asia and North Africa as the liberalisation of national railway TCDD requires it to adopt a more commercially-driven business model. Speaking to Railway Gazette International at the Eurasiarail trade fair in Istanbul on March ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Riyadh metro trainset unveiled by Siemens
SAUDI ARABIA: The first Inspiro trainset for the Riyadh metro was unveiled at Siemens’ Simmering plant in Wien on February 23. A trainset is currently being tested at the Rail Tec Arsenal climate chamber in Wien, and dynamic trials at the Siemens test centre at Wildenrath in Germany are scheduled ...
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NewsUralvagonzavod wagons for Iran
IRAN: Russian rolling stock and defence group Uralvagonzavod has completed a Type 12-581-01 open wagon custom-designed for export to Iran by its Ural Design Bureau of Wagon Construction. The Type 12-581-wagon has a capacity of 66·7 tonnes. The 18-100 bogie is an existing 1 520 mm gauge design modified for ...
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NewsPresident launches Tehran - Mashhad electrification project
IRAN: President Hassan Rouhani ceremonially launched work to electrify the 926 km Tehran – Mashhad main line when he visited the northeastern city on February 6. Planning for the 25 kV 50 Hz electrification project has been underway since 2012. In June 2014 a contract to install and maintain overhead ...
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NewsChina - Iran container train
ASIA: What is described as the first container train service between China and Iran was launched on January 28, when a train carrying ‘small commodities’ departed from Yiwu for Tehran. The 10 399 km journey via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with two breaks of gauge is scheduled to take 14 days, ...
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NewsIran and Italy sign railway MOU
IRAN: Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Akhoundi signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the rail sector when Iran’s President Rouhani visited Italy on January 25. Italian national railway group FS said it had been active in the region since 2001, ...
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NewsEtihad Rail suspends Stage 2 tendering
UAE: National rail developer Etihad Rail announced on January 26 that it had suspended the tendering process for Stage Two of the project and informed all the bidders in writing. Etihad Rail recently started commercial operation on the initial phase of the planned network, which links Shah and Habshan to ...
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NewsMumbai – Mediterranean rail and sea corridor agreed
INTERNATIONAL: Railway, shipping and port officials from Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine met in Azerbaijan on January 12 to agree plans for the development of freight transport corridors between the Indian port of Mumbai and the Mediterranean. Three routes are offered. All start with the maritime leg from Mumbai ...
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NewsSiemens signs Iranian railway memorandum of understanding
IRAN: Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and Siemens signed a memorandum of understanding for potential co-operation in the rail sector in Tehran on January 6. A Siemens spokesman told Railway Gazette the company intends ‘to engage in talks on improving infrastructure in the rail sector as agreed by both parties’, ...
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NewsCairo signs metro Line 6 MoU
EGYPT: The Ministry of Transportation has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Railway Construction Corp for the construction of Cairo metro Line 6. Construction of the 24 km line is expected to cost US$3·5bn, with the financing still to be negotiated. Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank has ...
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NewsOman Rail phase two approved
OMAN: A royal decree issued on December 20 declared the second phase of the planned 2 135 km national railway project to be a public utility project. The decree grants powers for land acquisition for Phase 2, which would run south to Fahud from a connection with the Al ...
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NewsElectrification contract awarded
ISRAEL: Israel Railways has awarded Sociedad Española de Montajes Industriales a 2bn shekel contract to build and maintain electrification infrastructure. The Spanish company beat bids from Siemens, Elecnor, Alstom and China Railways Construction Corp. The contract announced on December 6 covers 420 route-km across 13 lines and includes the ...