Al-Muqbil confident of Haramain Rail deadline

RIYADH — Minister of Transport Abdullah Al-Muqbil has said he is confident of the new deadline for the completion of the Haramain Train Project, which has been brought forward to 2017, instead of mid-2018. The minister made the remarks during his address to the Fourth International Road Union Conference on Tuesday. “The project will be launched in two parts. The railway link between Rabigh and Madinah will be launched in 2016 while the link to Makkah will be launched a year later in 2017,” said Al-Muqbil. He said the ministry will not incur any extra expenses for advancing the project launch. “I am confident about the new deadline," he said, urging the general public to rely on information from official sources rather than trusting rumors that spread on social media. "There has been a rumor circulating on social media claiming that the tickets for the train will be expensive. The rumor is false as the ticket prices are yet to be finalized. Ministry officials will meet with experts to discuss the pricing scheme,” said Al-Muqbil. He also promised the public that the ministry has the citizens’ interest in mind and will not set unreasonable prices. “The rumor about the delay of King Abdulaziz Public Transportation Project in Riyadh is also false. The project will be complete within the next three years. There will be no change of contracting companies and no change in planning. Everything has been previously set and the execution of the project is going according to plan,” said Al-Muqbil. He said the project of the Gulf Train is still being studied. “Studies on the project shall be complete in March 2016. The next step would then be to submit the study to the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Kingdom places great importance on the development of transportation, which will boost the economy and will enable the Saudi people to become productive members of society,” said A-Muqbil. He added the total length of asphalted roads in the Kingdom reached 64,000 km. “We are currently working on asphalting 24,000 km of roads at a total cost of over SR20 million. We also plan to asphalt 60,000 km of roads in the future. The ministry is open to any suggestions and complaints from the general public. If any negligence was sighted, citizens are encouraged to report it to the ministry so we can take the necessary measures,” said Al-Muqbil.