Saudi’s 300kph train to be ready this year

“Haramain Express” or Saudi’s $16 billion high-speed train is on track to roll out in 2018, according to a report. 

Gulf news, quoting Jeddah-based daily Arab News said that the new train service will be ready to serve the public this year, following final safety checks and operational readiness carried out for high-speed trains.

This was revealed to Arab News by Nabil Al-Amoudi, Minister of Transportation and Chairman of the Saudi Railway Organisation. 

The service, according to the report, is capable of carrying up to 60 million passengers a year, including millions of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. Construction started in March 2009. 

When realised, the train is expected to cut travel time between the cities of Makkah and Madinah to under two hours, instead of six hours by bus.

Japan’s “bullet train”, also known as Shinkansen, has a maximum operating speed of 320kph.

Haramain Express, designed to reach speeds of up to 360kph, has been undergoing tests since the end of 2017, Al-Amoudi was quoted as saying.  

The Haramain high-speed rail project, also known as the “Western railway” or “Makkah–Medina high-speed railway”, is a 453-kilometre-long (281 mi) high-speed inter-city rail transport system in Saudi Arabia.

It links the cities of Madinah and Makkah via King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), as well as Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), using 449.2 kilometres (279.1 mi) of main line and a 3.75-kilometre (2.33 mi) branch connection to KAIA.