Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — Public Transport Authority Chief and Acting President of the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) Rumaih Al-Rumaih announced on Thursday that the Haramain high-speed train will start commercial operations on Oct. 1.
One-way tourist class train ticket fare from Sulaimaniyah station in Jeddah to Makkah will be SR20 while the fare for business class will be SR25. The ticket fares for tourist class between Makkah and Madinah is SR75 while the business class would cost SR125. The tourist class ticket will cost SR63 between Jeddah and Madinah while the business class fare is SR105. The fares from Rabigh to Madinah will be SR50 for tourist class and SR75 for business class.
The board of directors of SRO, chaired by Minister of Transport Nabeel Al-Amoudi, has approved the ticket fares after coming to an agreement with the Saudi–Spanish consortium — Al-Shoula Group, which is the operator of the project.
Al-Rumaih said that there will be scheduled weekly trips from Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City of Rabigh on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the period from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. There will be eight services daily on both sides (four trips each side) in the morning and evening until the end of this year.
There will be services daily with an increased frequency from the beginning of 2019. The beginning of services from King Abdulaziz International Airport will be announced after completion of the finishing works of the station at the new airport, Al-Rumaih added.
Mohammed Fida, director general of the Haramain High Speed Train Project, said that tickets will be available from the project website from October. This will coincide with launching of a special app for booking and purchasing of tickets.
He said that the sprawling Jeddah railway station, spreading over a total area of 766,000 square meters, has the capacity to hold 25,000 passengers in an hour. The Makkah Rusaifah station, located 4 km from the Grand Mosque, has 503,000 square meters of area with a capacity to accommodate 20,000 passengers per hour while the Madinah station, which is 9 km from the Prophet’s Mosque, has the capacity for 4,000 passengers on a total area of 268,000 square meters. There has been tremendous response for renting commercial spots at the Haramain railway stations.
The 450 km railway, with fully electrified double tracks, is estimated to cost SR37.5 billion. The project includes trains traveling at a speed of 320 km per hour and fitted with the highly advanced equipment and devices.
