Tourism & Hospitality | Sunday 25 December, 2016 10:55 am |

The Haramain high speed train will start operating gradually in six months, with the first trip departing from Makkah to Madinah via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic city in Rabigh, a 450-km-long trip.
The Haramain train will be full operational at the end of 2017.
Of the whole project, only 10 km are currently functional, including 7 km in Makkah and 3 km in Al-Harazat district, in Jeddah.
Haramain High Speed Rail Project Director Bassam bin Ahmed Ghulman said two more months are left until the completion of the expansion of Al-Shafaa Street, in central Makkah, which has two axes, one from the direction of the Third Ring Road, the other in Al-Rusaifah district.
During a meeting organized by the sub-council of the Saudi Umran Society in Makkah at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industries on Tuesday, Ghulman said that the project used more than 1.9 million meters of telecommunication cables, about 4 million tons of gravel and more than 1,500 closed-circuit television (CCTV) for control and command.
He also said that "Jeddah station is the largest as a facility, but Al-Rusaifah station in Makkah is the most expensive in terms of contracting", adding that there is no final decision with regard to fares, which are under study.
Ghulman said Haramain High Speed Rail Project is the largest transportation project in the Middle East and one of the largest public transportation projects in the world, with an estimated 120-year lifespan for all expandable facilities.
It is estimated to cost about SR62 billion and involved erecting 15,000 power pylons and demolition of some high mountains.
The project also has more than 39 centers for electricity generators and about 147 Wi-Fi points of transmission and reception to serve passengers for free at bus and car stops at the stations.
The cost of the six central plants to generate power reached about SR2 billion.
Ghulman added that the Haramain trains are designed to travel at speeds of 350 km/h, but will usually run at 300 km/h.
"The train will transport 19,600 passengers per hour between Makkah and Jeddah at full capacity, and 3,800 passengers between Makkah and Madinah per hour,” said Ghulman.