Yesterday,On 25 September 2018 King Salman launched the Haramain High-Speed Railway, the biggest electric speed train project in the Middle East, at Jeddah’s Al-Sulaymaniyah station on Tuesday.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, adviser to the king and governor of Makkah, along with senior officials and dignitaries.
The ceremony concluded with the king taking the train to Madinah. The train was captained by a Saudi national driver, Abdullah Al-Ahmadi.
Minister of transport, Dr. Nabil Al-Amoudi, delivered a speech saying that the Kingdom had always been proud of serving pilgrims. “The two holy places are now closer than ever,” he said.
The Haramain High-Speed Railway project is in line with the objective of Vision 2030, the main goal of which is to increase the number of pilgrims and visitors to the holy places, he said. Transport is a main pillar of the national economy and a key driver of the economic renaissance that will take place under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy.
Al-Amoudi presented a picture to the king, which showed King Abdul Aziz with King Saud at the launch of the first railway project (East Train) in the Kingdom in 1951.
Rumaih Al-Rumaih, chairman of the Public Transport Authority (PTA) and acting president of the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO), said that supervision of the project had ensured the operational efficiency of the project and all facilities were of the highest quality. “We were keen to introduce a trustworthy project that reflects the Kingdom’s care for pilgrims and visitors of holy sites, as well as the citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Al-Rumaih added that despite the technical and topographical challenges encountered during the project, the Al-Haramain train was one of the great achievements for the service of pilgrims and Umrah performers.
As for women’s participation in the project, Al-Rumaih said that the government was working to provide jobs for young men and women. “Women are the other half of the society and we can see them one day driving our trains,” he told Arab News.
With a speed of 300 km and hour, Al-Rumaih said that the train would cover a distance of 450 km, linking stations in Makkah, Jeddah, King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah (KAIA), King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Rabigh and Madinah.
The SR60 billion ($16 billion) mega project went through three stages before screens could display journey timetables at the stations. The first stage, which was carried out by a consortium of national and international companies, started with the construction of 130 bridges and 850 water channels, a process in which some 150 million cubic meters of sand and rocks were removed to prepare the route for the train.
The second stage involved the construction of four stations in Makkah, Jeddah, Rabigh and Madinah. The construction of the fifth station, at the KAIA, was part of the airport project.
The third stage involved the construction of a railway line and the importation of the systems for signals, controls, ticketing and telecommunication.
News Source : Arab News
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Oh Masha Allah.Keep in duas.
I have heard that although it is inaugrated ,it will start running from 4 October onwards.
Alhamdullilah, this is indeed great news!! We arrive in Madinah Shareef in the next few days, InshAllah we hope to travel by train between the two beloved Cities. :-)
There are many hotels available in Mecca and there is not a problem finding hotel there .When We go to Mecca ,we usually go and search hotel. We get hotel quite easily alhumdulillah. To be on safe side ,You may pre book some hotel from online sites for a day or two and then when you reach there find one closer to haram.
I would suggest you to read this informative article on Prophet's Mosque.https://islamhashtag.com/raudhah-of-masjid-nabawi/.Many People have found it useful and it has also helped them to connect spiritually.Alhimdulillah.
May Allah make your Journey easy .Please when you go there , Give my salam to our beloved
Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
ﷺ ﷺ ﷺ
Shukran for another very informative article, much appreciated. Does this mean the high speed train is open to transport pilgrims even for Umrah it will it only be used during the Hajj period? Jzkl Khair
Assalamu alaikum wrwb . This train will run round the year . This news is a Very happy News for the locals as not only is it super fast but we have heard that even the fare is not too much.
Jzkl Khair,
I will be traveling with my parents, wife and 4 children IA, pls keep us in your dua's too
If you do have an update as to where and how we can book tickets please share as we plan traveling from Madinah Shareef to Mecca on the 8th October. Jzkl
Aameen, WSLM WRHWBKT Jazakallah for the wonderful work you do to help and inspire us, May Allah SBHT and our beloved Nabi SAW be pleased with you Aameen InshAllah.
G, we have already booked our hotels in Meccah and Madinah Shareef Alhmd.
We will need to find out where to book our train tickets IA
Jzkl Khair
Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullahe wabarkatahu can we book tickets for Hajj ourselves with hotel because I hear that the middle man makes money. Please let me know about Hajj from the beginning. Wassalam