A plan has been completed to link Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina with the expansion taking place at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, said Dr. Habib Zain Al-Abideen, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Supervisor General of the Central Administration for Development Projects in the Holy Sites. He told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the train line will be in the northern part of Mina and will cost SR6.6 billion. Al-Abideen said that the ministry is now waiting for final approval so that the project can start. It will take about two to three years to complete, the same time it took for the current Mashair Train. He said the plan for the Mashair Train includes three lines – the first in the south, the second in the north and the third in the middle of Mina. The third line is still under study. Meanwhile, Al-Abideen said a new Haj project is to build 36,000 restrooms at all the holy sites at a cost of SR600 million. Half of the project will be ready for next year's Haj. Another new project next year will link Al-Sha'bain Area with the Jamarat Bridge at a cost of SR400 million. He said they are waiting for the approval from the Makkah Development Authority to start the project at the beginning of the year. Al-Abideen said there would be workshops held during Muharram to study any observations on the performance of the Mashair Train. He stressed that the Jamarat Bridge has not reduced the number of tent camps in Mina because half of the bridge is outside the Tent City. The same applies to the Mashair Train which runs on an elevated track and has reduced the pressure on Mina's streets. He said the government was determined to carry out projects to improve services for Haj and Umrah pilgrims. For his part, Abu Tarboosh, Director of the Mashair Train Project, said a German company has conducted an opinion poll on the performance of the Mashair Train this year which will be tabled for discussion with Haj authorities at a workshop in the month of Muharram. He denied any shortcomings in the train's performance, as there were no technical glitches or any delays. However, he admitted that some pilgrims managed to sneak onto the train due to the crowds without having official wrist bands. He said this needs to be tackled. Abu Tarboosh said the Mashair Train made 1,458 trips, transporting 3.5 million pilgrims at the rate of nine trips for each pilgrim. __
