Middle East – Page 29
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Metro Report InternationalFirst tram test run in Jerusalem
ISRAEL: A Citadis light rail vehicle made the first test run in Jerusalem on February 24, along a newly-energised 3 km section of track between the depot near French Hill and Ammunition Hill junction. The event was watched by senior officials from the municipality and light rail concessionaire CityPass, along ...
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NewsGulf Railway could start next year
MIDDLE EAST: The Gulf Co-operation Council remains optimistic that a 1940 route-km regional network could be operational by 2017. Despite concerns that the ambitious railway network linking the six states in the Gulf Co-operation Council could be delayed by the global economic downturn, officials are insistent that ...
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NewsAdvisors sought for national rail plan
JORDAN: The government will shortly appoint financial, legal and technical advisers to assist with the development of a national rail network. On January 26 Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh told the Petra news agency that he expected to see detailed cost figures within 10 months, paving the way ...
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NewsAl Rajhi wins Makkah - Madinah civils contract
SAUDI ARABIA: The Al Rajhi Alliance has won the 6·79bn riyal design and build contract for civil works on the Haramain High Speed Rail project. Work is scheduled to begin in March on the 444 km high speed line linking the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah ...
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NewsAmbitious GCC rail plans start to firm up
MIDDLE EAST: Development of a 1 940 route-km rail network linking the six member states of the Gulf Co-operation Council is moving closer to fruition, with a feasibility study to be completed by March. At a meeting of finance and economics ministers held in Dubai on November ...
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NewsIntercontinental Bridge of the Horns proposed
RED SEA: Ambitious proposals have been revealed for a bridge across the Bab al-Mandib, or Gate of Tears, between Djibouti and Yemen. The US$20bn Bridge of the Horns would be 28·5 km long, with three 2·7 km suspension spans, the longest in the world. It would carry ...
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News
Amman - Zarqa light rail back on
JORDAN: A new contract has been awarded for the construction and operation of the long-planned inter-urban light rail line between Amman and Zarqa. The US$332m 30-year build-operate-transfer concession with Spain's Ineco-Tifsa and a Kuwaiti partner replaces a US$240m contract with a consortium of Jordanian, Pakistani and Chinese firms which was ...
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News
Consultants appointed in Oman
OMAN: Consultants have been appointed to undertake a study into the feasibility of building a 200 km freight railway between the port of Suhar and a planned container terminal at Birka to the north of the capital Masqat. Minister of National Economy Ahmed Macki told the local media on April ...
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News
Gulf rail links beckon
ONE REGION that has long harboured ambitions for an international rail network is the Gulf, although there has been little progress to report. With Saudi Arabia forging ahead with its north-south mineral line, east-west Landbridge and Western Railway (RG 8.07 p465), others are keen to join the party. Reports surfaced ...
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News
Amman contract
Transport Minister Soud Nseirat announced on May 8 that a consortium of Jordanian, Pakistani and Chinese firms has been awarded a contract worth between 170 and 180m dinars to build the Amman - Zarqa light rail line (RG 1.07 p9).The contract was expected to be signed during the World Economic ...
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News
Israeli expansion continues
ISRAEL: On January 2 Israel Railways marked the start of construction of Ofakim station on the new direct line between Ashkelon and Beer-Sheva. Participating in the stone-laying ceremony were Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, ISR General Manager Ofer Linchevsky and Mayor of Ofakim Avi Asraf. Costed at US$400m, the 63 km ...
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News
North-South Railway project management deal
AN INTERNATIONAL consortium led by the US-based Louis Berger Group is to undertake detailed design and manage the construction of a 1800 km heavy haul network serving mineral reserves in northern Saudi Arabia. Other members of the consortium are Systra, Canarail and the Saudi Consolidated Engineering Co. Worth 512m riyals ...
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Metro Report International
Alstom wins Jerusalem LRT
THIS MONTH is due to see the formal signing of the 30-year concession to build and operate Line 1 of the planned Jerusalem light rail network. On October 28, the Israeli ministries of Transport and Finance announced that the City Pass consortium had been selected for the project, and that ...
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Metro Report International
Jerusalem light rail works start
PREPARATORY works have started along the route of Jerusalem's first light rail line. This follows approval in June by the National Council for Design & Construction of an overall plan that would see eight lines totalling 54 km built in the city. The rights-of-way required for the LRT network are ...
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Metro Report International
Jerusalem LRT shortlist
DETAILS of the two competing bids to build and operate the initial light rail line in Jerusalem were unveiled by the Municipality and the Israeli ministries of Transport and Finance on June 4, which were presented to the inter-ministerial committee that day. Analysis of the tenders is expected to take ...
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News
Ben Gurion airport rail link construction agreed
ISRAEL Railways has reached agreement with the Ministry of Finance and the Airports Authority for construction of the long-planned rail link to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport. The government will fund the US$25m cost of the 2 km branch, and the Airports Authority will provide the station and connections to ...
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Metro Report International
Jerusalem light rail prequalification launched
ISRAEL: The government and the Municipality of Jerusalem issued a formal invitation on December 5 to prequalify for a 30-year concession to build, operate and maintain the city’s first light rail line. Bidding documents were to be available from the Ministry of Transport four days later, with a closing date ...
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News
Wisconsin moves into Jordan
Tonnage carried by the Aqaba Railway is expected to triple by 2002 after a Raytheon-led consortium takes a 25 year lease AUGUST 18 saw the signing of an agreement under which management and operation of the 292 km Aqaba Railway in Jordan will pass to a consortium that includes Wisconsin ...
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News
No trips to Jerusalem
Israel Railways has been unable to resolve the problems posed by its Tel Aviv - Jerusalem line. Expensive to operate and maintain because of tortuous curves and severe grades, neither the infrastructure nor rolling stock is exactly state of the art. There were six derailments alone last year. The main ...