Haramain High Speed Rail Project
| Haramain High Speed Rail project | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Type | High Speed Rail | ||
| System | Saudi Railway Organization | ||
| Status | under construction | ||
| Termini | Medina Mecca |
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| Stations | 5 | ||
| Daily ridership | 150K a day, 50 MN annually | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opened | December 2017 | ||
| Operator(s) | Saudi Railway Organization (with Adif and Renfe) | ||
| Rolling stock | Talgo 350 SRO | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 453.0 kilometres (281.5 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | 2 | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Operating speed | 300 km/h (190 mph) | ||
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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 under construction in Saudi Arabia. It will link the Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca via King Abdullah Economic City, Rabigh, Jeddah, using 449.2 kilometres (279.1 mi) of main line and a 3.75-kilometre (2.33 mi) branch connection to King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA).) The network will be connected to existing rail transport in Saudi Arabia at Jeddah. The project is delayed and was originally planned to open in 2012. As of November 2016 the whole project is scheduled to be open in March 2018 with partial operations from December 2017.
The rail line is planned to provide a safe and comfortable transport in 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph) electric trains. Construction started in March 2009. The railway is expected to carry three million passengers a year, including many Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, helping to relieve traffic congestion on the roads.
The double-track line will be electrified and the design speed is 320 kilometres per hour (200 mph). Trains will run in service at 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph), and travelling the 78 kilometres (48 mi) between Jeddah and Makkah will take less than half an hour, while the 410 kilometres (250 mi) between Jeddah and Medina will take about 2 hours. The track, rolling stock and stations are designed to handle the temperatures ranging from 0 °C (32 °F) to 50 °C (122 °F).
There will be five stations on the line at:
The Makkah Central Station will be located near the 3rd Ring Road. The Jeddah Central Station will be located on the Haramain Road. The railway alignment route will be on the median of the Haramain road. The Station in KAIA will be a terminus station. Medina will have only one passenger station. A station may be required for the Hajj Terminal at Jeddah Airport.
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Wikipedia