Saudi Arabia set to launch Makkah light rail network

Saudi railway authorities are all set to kick off the Makkah Light Rail Project operations next month following the successful testing of the system by the contractor China Railway Construction Corporation in June, said a report.

In 2009, CRCC had won the bid for the construction of the 18.25-km-long rail network, which includes nine stations, reported China's Xinhua news agency.

Impressed with the project work, the Saudi government also awarded CRCC with the



operation contract worth SR350 million ($93 million) for the Makkah Light Rail in April, it stated.

The company had operated the light rail, the first one in Saudi, during 2010-2014 after the construction work had been completed and successfully carrying out about 15 million trips with zero fatalities, it stated.

The Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah is an exclusive metro line for Makkah which operates only during the Hajj season. Running 7 days a year, it operates as a shuttle train for pilgrims between Makkah, Mount Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina to reduce congestion caused by thousand of buses and cars during the Hajj, it added.