Union Railway, the master developer and operator of the UAE's national railway, announced that it will tender civil engineering contracts in March.

Kuwait signed an US$8mn contract with Ernst and Young Company for the state-planned metro system.

The proposed rail line between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah has received a vote of confidence with a new study coming out showing that there would be high demand for such a service, reported The National.

Bombardier Transportation has been awarded a US$241mn contract in Saudi Arabia for its next generation Innovia Monorail 300 fully automated transit system. The company has signed a contract with Saudi Arabian construction company, Saudi Oger Limited, for the supply, installation, operation and maintenance of a 3.6 km Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300 system for the King Abdullah Financial District, the new financial and business centre under development in Riyadh.

Yemen will launch a rail project worth US$3.5 billion (Dh12.85 billion) in July as part of plans to upgrade infrastructure in a country battling lawlessness, militancy and rebellion, an official said.