Makkah-Madinah high speed rail just months away from becoming operational

Field work on the Haramain Express Train, which connects the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, is done and the entire project will be fully completed before the yearend, the Makkah Region Development Authority (MRDA) has said.
In a statement reported by Al-Hayat newspaper on Thursday, the authority said the train service is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2018.
“The 450-km-long electric railway project serves as a qualitative addition to the transportation system in the Kingdom. It aims to provide a fast, convenient, reliable and safe way of transport between Makkah and Madinah, as well as the cities of Jeddah and Rabigh,” the MRDA was quoted as saying.
The project is in its final stages after 35 trains, with a capacity of 417 seats per train, were equipped with the best amenities and “will be operated according to world-class systems.”
The Makkah station is located at the main entrance to the city in the neighborhood of Al-Rusaifah, about three kilometers away from the Grand Mosque, while the Al-Madinah station is located in the Knowledge Economic City (KEC) along King Abdulaziz Road.
From Makkah, the railway passes through the city of Jeddah, where there are two train stations, one at Sulaymaniyah in the center of the city and the second at King Abdulaziz International Airport.
It then passes through Rabigh, where a station is located near King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST).
MRDA said the high speed railway will shorten travel between Makkah and Jeddah to about 21 minutes and between the cities of Makkah and Madinah to less than two-and-a-half hours.