German rail and logistics group Deutsche Bahn has signed a major contract to build high-speed railway lines in Qatar and Bahrain. The projects are expected to cost 17 billion euro ($25 billion), the company said in a statement.

Deutsche Bahn will design and build a metro system for Qatar's capital Doha, comprising four lines with 98 stations and a total length of 300 km.
It also enviasages  a high-speed connection to the airport, and a link to Bahrain, with trains capable of travelling 350 km per hour. 

Deutsche Bahn boss Ruediger Grube signed the deal in Doha in the presence of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, who is also foreign minister, as well as German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer.

The contract creates a new company called the Qatar Railways Development Company, which will be 49-percent owned by Deutsche Bahn and 51 percent by Qatari Diar, Qatar's state-owned infrastructure and property development firm.