The Haramain high speed railway project will begin operations in the next six months, although only some stations will be open initially.
In its first trip, the train will depart from Mecca to Madinah via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic city in Rabigh, Arab News informs. The fares have not yet been revealed.
The SAR 62 billion (USD 16.5 billion) project is due to be completed by the end of 2017 and will provide 35 passenger trains on two-way trips between Mecca and Madinah every half an hour.
Currently only 10km of the line are functional, including 7km in Mecca and 3km in Jeddah’s Al-Harazat district, the report stated.
The 450km line is expected to cut travel between Mecca and Jeddah to 21 minutes, Jeddah to King Abdulaziz Airport to 14 minutes, King Abdulaziz Airport to Rabigh to 36 minutes and Rabigh to Madinah to 61 minutes.
The project was originally due to open in 2012 but has been affected by delays and cost increases.
In November 2016, it was announced that the Spanish consortium building the rail link had reached a preliminary deal with the Saudi government to finalise the works after the delays.
The Al Shoula consortium comprising 12 Spanish companies and two Saudi firms was involved in a dispute over payments with the Saudi government.
The consortium’s contract, valued at EUR 6.7 billion (USD 7.11 billion), is expected to be extended to March 2018, 14 months later than originally planned, a spokesman said.
Photo: Your Middle East
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