MADINAH – The Haramain High Speed Train on Wednesday resumed its service between Makkah and Madinah after a gap of over two and a half months. The train had started operation from the railway station of the new terminal of Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) last Wednesday after the main station in Sulaymaniyah District in Jeddah was rendered inoperative following a massive fire. The Sulaymaniyah station engulfed in the fire that occurred on Sept. 29, forcing temporary suspension of service on the Makkah-Jeddah-Madinah route. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Saad Al-Shehri, director of Haramain High Speed Railway Station in Madinah, said that the first train left from Madinah station for Makkah at 8:10 a.m. on Wednesday. "There will be 12 round trips per day between the two stations from Wednesday to Sunday, with a capacity of 5,000 passengers per day on board the trains, which each train has the capacity for 417 passengers." Al-Shehri said that there is a possibility to increase the number of trips serving residents, pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques between the stations of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City of Rabigh. The station at the new KAIA airport is a unique step taken by GACA in connecting its terminal 1 with the Haramain Train Network, as it constitutes a qualitative shift in public transport services at Saudi airports. The station has a capacity to hold 3,204 passengers per hour, and it is instrumental in further smoothening the transportation of visitors and pilgrims to the Two Holy Mosques with ease and comfort. Spread over on an area of 99,000 sq. meters, the 6-story station consists of commercial areas and waiting longue for first-class passengers. It has the capacity for six trains at a time with a platform for trains with a length of 519 meters, and investment areas on an area covering 2,543 sq. meters. There are 40 well-trained and qualified male and female Saudi staff working in the sections of tickets, baggage and guiding travelers at the station.
