Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — The Haramain High-Speed Railway, established at a total cost of SR60 billion, will create 2,000 jobs for men and women, according to a former executive of the project.

Bassam Ghulman, former project manager of Haramain Railway, said the train would take 131 minutes to reach Madinah from Makkah via Jeddah and Rabigh.

"The trip between Makkah and Jeddah will take 21 minutes, and between Jeddah and the King Abdulaziz International Airport 14 minutes. The trip between the airport and Rabigh will take 36 minutes and from Rabigh to Madinah it will take 60 minutes. It is estimated that the train will have a capacity to transport 12,000 passengers an hour between Makkah and Madinah," said Ghulman.

He said once the project is fully implemented, it would operate seven trains between Makkah and Jeddah every hour with a gap of 10 minutes between each.

"There will be a train between Makkah and Madinah and vice versa every hour. The trains will be going at a speed of 300 km per hour. The project can operate 12 trains per hour as there are separate plans in place for normal and crowded seasons," said Ghulman.

He also said a total of 35 electric trains have been manufactured and imported. Each train, with a capacity of 417 passengers in 13 cars, has two control chambers.