Haramain train to start operation on Oct. 1; fares finalized

The Haramain high-speed train will begin commercial operations on Oct. 1, Public Transport Authority Chief and Acting President of the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) Rumaih Al-Rumaih announced on Thursday.

One-way visitor class train ticket fare from Sulaimaniyah station in Jeddah to Makkah will be SR20 while the fare for business class will be SR25. The ticket passages for visitor class among Makkah and Madinah is SR75 while the business class would cost SR125. The visitor class ticket will cost SR63 among Jeddah and Madinah while the business class charge is SR105. The charges from Rabigh to Madinah will be SR50 for visitor class and SR75 for business class. 

The board of directors of SRO, chaired by Minister of Transport Nabeel Al-Amoudi, has approved the ticket fares after coming to an agreement with the Saudi–Spanish consortium — Al-Shoula Group, which is the operator of the project.

Al-Rumaih said that there will be planned week by week trips from Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City of Rabigh on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday amid the period from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. There will be eight services every day on the two sides (four trips each side) in the morning and evening until the end of this year.

There will be services every day with an expanded recurrence from the earliest starting point of 2019. The start of administrations from King Abdulaziz International Airport will be reported after consummation of the completing works of the station at the new airplane terminal, Al-Rumaih included. 

Director general of the Haramain High Speed Train Project, Mohammed Fida, said that tickets will be available from the project website from October. This will coincide with launching of a special app for booking and purchasing of tickets.

He said that the sprawling Jeddah railway station, spreading over a total area of 766,000 square meters, has the capacity to hold 25,000 passengers in an hour. The Makkah Rusaifah station, located 4 km from the Grand Mosque, has 503,000 square meters of area with a capacity to accommodate 20,000 passengers per hour while the Madinah station, which is 9 km from the Prophet’s Mosque, has the capacity for 4,000 passengers on a total area of 268,000 square meters. There has been tremendous response for renting commercial spots at the Haramain railway stations.

The 450 km railway, with fully electrified double tracks, is estimated to cost SR37.5 billion. The project includes trains traveling at a speed of 320 km per hour and fitted with the highly advanced equipment and devices.