Stage 1 construction of the Mecca Mass Rail Transit project (MMRT) is set to begin in 2013 with services due to begin in 2017.

UAE-based Advance Rail Group (ARG) has joined up with a major Saudi Arabia contractor to bid on more than US$800 million worth of future rail opportunities in the Kingdom.

Emirates Steel, the largest integrated steel manufacturer in the UAE, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Etihad Rail to use rail as the primary method for steel transportation across the UAE.

QDVC, a joint venture between Qatari Diar and VINCI Construction Grands Projets, has won a contract for a further works phase of the Light Rail Transit System (LRT) construction project in Lusail city, Qatar.

Qatar Railways Co. (QRail) has been inviting expressions of interest from local and international companies seeking to bid for design and construction contracts for the country's US$25 billion Doha Metro project.