Abdulaziz Ghazzawi
JEDDAH — The fifth Haramain train arrived in Jeddah on Thursday. All the customs clearance procedures for the train were completed and it was sent to the workshops in Rabigh.
An official in the Haramain Train Project said coordination is on with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to set up six electricity plants for the train on the sides of the train route. Meanwhile, the contractor of the second stage will extend cables on pillars starting from King Abdulaziz International Airport intersection up to Usfan and beyond.
In a related development, one of the companies has completed construction of the biggest bridge for the train route in Makkah. It has seven tracks and is 2,500 meters long and 70 meters wide.
It passes above the third ring road in Makkah. About 90 percent of the project has been completed, apart from two other bridges. One is at the New King Abdulaziz International Airport railway station and the second is the one from which the train comes out and heads towards Makkah. The bridges have a length of 1,500 meters and a height of 15 meters.
The Haramain High Speed Train, which is currently undergoing test runs between Madinah and Rabigh, will begin its trial run from the main station in Jeddah mid-year, according to informed sources.
The sources said work in the second stage of the project, which is being implemented by 12 Spanish companies, is going on smoothly.
They said the companies are currently installing electricity posts, extending underground cables, making train cushions and laying down rails on the suspension bridges.
There are two bridges connecting the train’s station at King Abdulaziz International Airport with the railway track coming from Madinah and going to Al-Sulaimania station in Jeddah. On its way from Jeddah to Makkah, the train will pass through a bridge, which is 1,500 meters long and 15 meters high.
The 447-meter track passes through a number of cities and towns. The train runs between Makkah and Madinah, passing through Jeddah and Rabigh crossing wide suburban areas and farms.
The train is expected to be fully operational in 2017. When it enters service, the number of buses transporting pilgrims will be remarkably reduced. They will only be used to take pilgrims from railway stations in Makkah and Madinah to their accommodation.
The High Speed Train will be linked to the Makkah metro to provide pilgrims with easy and fast transportation to the Holy Sites. A number of young Saudi men who were trained in Spain will be operating the train.
