Haramain train only 10 km of tracks away from completion

Source: saudigazette.com.sa

Haramain train only 10 km of tracks away from completion

MAKKAH — Haramain train Work on only 10 km of track has to be completed before the Haramain high-speed train will be ready for operation, according to the project’s supervisor Bassam Ghulam.

He said during a presentation at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday that work has to be completed on seven kilometers of track from the side of Al-Iskan neighborhood in Makkah and three in Jeddah’s Al-Harazat district.

During the first phase of its operation, which will continue for 12 years, the train is expected to transport about 1.2 billion passengers at the rate of 100 million every year, said Ghulam.

“At the outset of its operation, the train is expected to transport between 11,400-12,400 passengers an hour,” he said.

When it becomes fully operational, the train will transport 19,100 passengers an hour between Jeddah and Makkah, 3,800 between Makkah and Madinah and 8,000 between Rabigh and Madinah.

“The train will serve more than two million pilgrims every year,” he added.
“As many as 127 out of 138 bridges have been built and 845 crossings completed to drain rainwater,” said Ghulam.

The supervisor said the train will cover the distance between Jeddah and Makkah in less than 21 minutes, between Makkah and Rabigh in an hour and between Makkah and Madinah in two hours.

Due to safety measures, the maximum speed of the train per hour will not exceed 300 km.

Ghulam said the Jeddah part of the project was the most difficult because of the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway which is the most crowded.

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Source: saudigazette.com.sa

Over 1.3m arrive for Haj

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Over 1.3m arrive for Haj

MAKKAH — As many as 1,323,520 pilgrims have arrived from various parts of the world to perform this year’s Haj, which climaxes on Sunday with the Standing on Arafat.

According to Director General of the Passports Department (Jawazat) Maj. Gen. Solaiman Al-Yahya, 1,245,203 pilgrims have arrived by air through King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah.

He said 65,594 pilgrims have arrived by land from neighboring countries and the rest by sea through various seaports, mainly the Jeddah Islamic Seaport.

Al-Yahya said that 216 foreign pilgrims who did not observe Haj instructions were sent back to their respective countries. The violations included forging of 52 passports.

Under the instructions of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier, interior minister and the chairman of the Supreme Haj committee, any external pilgrim with valid Haj permit who arrives late for valid reasons such as flight delay will be received and rushed to Makkah.

Meanwhile, Hashim Al-Falih, chairman of the Haj Preparation Committee at the Makkah Governorate, said that 189,000 people who attempted to enter Makkah and the Holy Sites were sent back from checkpoints since the beginning of the Haj season until Thursday.

He said the violating Saudi pilgrims will face imprisonment and fines while expatriates will face the same punishment and deportation.

Falih, who is adviser to Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, said 48,000 vehicles transporting illegal pilgrims were confiscated and 22 fake Haj companies sealed.

The Ministry of Haj and Umrah has warned that those domestic pilgrims who have registered for Haj and paid the fees but did not go for the pilgrimage will not get their money back.

“There will not be any reimbursement of fees for domestic pilgrims who are not in Makkah or the Holy Sites for Haj by Friday,” the ministry said in a statement.

However, those intending pilgrims who informed the ministry about their change of mind by Dhul Hijjah 3 (Sept. 5) will be reimbursed with a 40 percent deduction. But those who informed on Dhul Hijjah 6 (Sept. 8) that they won’t be performing Haj will be reimbursed with a deduction of 70 percent.

Source: saudigazette.com.sa

Pilgrims start arriving from tomorrow

Pilgrims start arriving from tomorrow

JEDDAH — King Abdulaziz International Airport’s Haj terminal in Jeddah and Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah have completed all preparations for receiving pilgrims who will start arriving at these airports from Thursday (Dhul Qada 1), the first day of the Haj season of 2016.

For the coming period of two and a half months, the airports are expected to receive around 1.4 million pilgrims from all over the world.

More than 7,000 staff, representing 27 government and private agencies, will be involved in implementing the Haj plan.

According to the plan, all the lounges of the Haj terminal will be converted into arrival lounges from Dhul Qada 1 till Dhul Hijja 4 (Aug. 4 – Sept. 5) and departure lounges from Dhul Hijjah 16 to Muharram 15 (Sept. 17 to Oct. 16).

The first flight carrying pilgrims from New Delhi will land at 5.30 p.m.at Madinah airport. A total of 1,36,020 Indians will perform Haj this year.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), in coordination with the Ministry of Haj and Umrah and other agencies, has prepared a plan in line with the directive of the Saudi leadership, to fast-track the arrival procedures by taking advantage of the e-track system.

Upon arrival at the terminal, officials from the Ministry of Health will receive pilgrims and give them necessary health guidelines and services, and then they will proceed to the Passport Control to complete immigration procedures.

The Haj terminal is spread over 90,000 square meters of roofed area and 160,000 sq. meters of open area. There are 142 counters for Passports (Jawazat) and 120 counters of the Ministry of Haj.

At Madinah airport, officials of the government and private departments serving pilgrims met to finalize the Haj operation plan. It is expected that the airport will receive a total of 2,678 Haj flights, a five percent increase over last year.

Meanwhile, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah and adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Central Haj Committee, met Minister of Haj Muhammad Saleh Bantan at his office in Jeddah on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Prince Khaled was briefed on the second phase of the e-track and e-bracelet systems for pilgrims and GPS system for pilgrims’ buses.

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Source: saudigazette.com.sa

Over six million pilgrims performing Umrah

Over six million pilgrims performing Umrah

JEDDAH – A record number of more than six million pilgrims will perform Umrah by the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which witnesses the peak Umrah season of the year.

As of Tuesday, a total of 5,888,986 pilgrims arrived in the holy city of Makkah from all over the world, according to the statistical report of the Information Center at the Ministry of Haj and Umrah, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The holy city will witness huge influx of Umrah pilgrims during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

“The number of Umrah pilgrims will exceed six million over the coming days.
The ministry, in cooperation and coordination with the concerned agencies, has made elaborate arrangements to cope with the unprecedented rush of pilgrims as well as to enable them to perform their rituals in ease and comfort,” the center said in a press statement adding that it has so far rendered 43,000 services to the pilgrims.

Meanwhile, Tarek Al-Abdul Jabbar, assistant president of the Airports, made an inspection tour of the Haj and Umrah terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Monday.

Accompanied by Abdullah Al-Reemi, director general of KAIA, and other senior airport officials, he reviewed the arrangements and facilities being made for the pilgrims. It is noteworthy that there are around 7,000 officials and employees, representing 27 public and private sectors, engaged in serving the pilgrims at the 14 departure and arrival lounges at the airport.

Source: saudigazette.com.sa

Haramain train test run in Jeddah mid-year

saudigazette

 Haramain train test run in Jeddah mid-year

 JEDDAH — The Haramain High Speed Train, which is currently undergoing test runs between Madinah and Rabigh, will begin its trial run from the main station in Jeddah mid-year, according to informed sources.

The sources said work in the second stage of the project, which is being implemented by 12 Spanish companies, is going on smoothly and has been 90 percent completed.

They said the companies are currently installing electricity posts, extending underground cables, making train cushions and laying down rails on the suspended bridges which are 24 meters high and have combined lengths of 2,500 meters.

There are two bridges connecting the train’s station at King Abdulaziz International Airport with the railway track coming from Madinah and going to Al-Sulaimania station in Jeddah.

On its way from Jeddah to Makkah, the train will pass through a bridge which is 1,500 meters long and 15 meters high.

A new bridge, which is 70 meters wide, is currently being built. It will be the widest train bridge in the world.

The 447-meter track passes through a number of cities and towns. The train runs between Makkah and Madinah, passing through Jeddah and Rabigh crossing wide suburban areas and farms.

With the end of the first phase of the project, 429 km of rails have been built and handed over to the contractor who began the second stage extending from Madinah to the crossing on the Expressway leading to the Haj terminal in Jeddah.

The train is expected to be fully operational in 2017. When it enters service, the number of buses transporting pilgrims will be remarkably reduced. They will only be used to take pilgrims from railway stations in Makkah and Madinah to their accommodation.

The High Speed Train will be linked to the Makkah metro to provide pilgrims with easy and fast transportation to the Holy Sites.

As many as 12 carriages are being used now in the ongoing test runs between Madinah and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh.

A number of young Saudi men who were trained in Spain will be operating the train.

Article by: saudigazette.com.sa