Mecca – The Haramain Speed Train linking Mecca and the Medina will be launched this year.
Haramain Speed Train project director-general Mohammed Abdulhafiz Fida, announced the plan, without unveiling any specific date for the start of commercial operations.
He said that Haramain Railway, one of the largest railway projects in the Middle East region, would reduce pressure on the road network between Mecca and the Medina and bring down traffic accidents involving pilgrims and other passengers.
Trains will pass through Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh. The railway will reduce the travel time between Mecca and Meca to 2 hours and 15 minutes with trains running at a speed of 300 km per hour.
The railway has five stations in Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Rabigh and King Abdulaziz International Airport. Designed according to Islamic architecture they will handle thousands of passengers daily and are provided with modern facilities to ensure the comfort of passengers.
Each of the five stations has lounges for departing and arriving passengers, waiting rooms, shops, restaurants, cafes, car parks and a VIP lounge, in addition to a mosque for 1,000 worshippers, a helipad and a Civil Defense center.
The station in Mecca is located close to Rusaifa, about 3 km from the Grand Mosque, while the Medina station is located in the Knowledge City on King Abdul Aziz Road, which connects the railway station with the Prophet’s Mosque.
The main station in Jeddah is situated in Sulaimaniya along the Mecca Expressway. The second Jeddah station is at King Abdulaziz International Airport, the main gateway of pilgrims to Mecca.
The Rabigh station is located close to King Abdullah Economic City.
The project also includes 850 passages for rainwater, floods, and sewage, Fida said.
Speaking about the capacity of the railway stations, Fida said the Jeddah station alone can handle more than 25,000 passengers per hour.
“The project aims at transporting 60 million passengers annually using 35 high-speed trains, each with a capacity of 417 seats. The capacity can be doubled to 834 by adding two cars,” he said.