RIYADH: Four stations will be set up along the route of the Al-Haramain High Speed Train at a cost of SR9.39 billion, Dr. Jubarah Bin Eid Al-Suraisiry, Minister of Transport, said here Wednesday. Al-Suraisiry, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Railways Organization, said the construction work of the four stations – at Makkah, Jeddah, Madina and Rabigh – will be undertaken in 30 months from the start of the project's implementation. The station in Rabigh will serve the King Abdullah Economic City, he said. Addressing a press conference here, Al-Suraisiry said he has signed four contracts for the construction of the stations last week in the capital. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Investment Fund was also present during the signing ceremony, he said. Al-Suraisiry said the signing of the four contracts marks the second part of the first stage of the Haramain Train project. He said the value of the first contract is SR3.2 billion, the second is SR1.6 billion, the third is worth SR2.9 billion and the last is SR1.8 billion. He said the stations have been designed according to the latest international standards. The designs, he said, bear significant characteristics of the Islamic architecture of the two holy cities – Makkah and Madina – and are inspired by the historical and cultural environment of Jeddah and Rabigh. He said the stations include the main building, arrival and departure terminals, mosque with a capacity of 600 worshippers, Civil Defense center, heliports, train and passenger platforms, long and short-term car parking lots, shops, restaurants and cafes. The first stage of the train project which included civil engineering work such as construction of bridges and excavation work was carried out at SR6.8 billion.
