The proposed 444-kilometer-long Al-Haramain Train route linking Makkah and Madina, which passes through Rabegh and Jeddah, will be changed and the value of some property expropriated as the project is being reassessed, said Engineer Muhammad Al-Dahlawi, Director of the Compensation Department at the Ministry of Transport and a member of the Committee on Property Acquisition. He said that a number of technical, administrative and financial changes have been made as a result of the expansion of the Grand Mosque. “The Committee has started reassessing the value of properties acquired for the train track,” he said, estimating that 1,700 pieces of property were acquired. “There are 902 buildings and 628 pieces of real estate in Makkah that have been reassessed,” he said. The value of about 120 agricultural plots of land will be reassessed based on their distance from Madina and the highway, he added. The high-speed inter-city electric trains running at 320 km an hour is expected to provide a safe and comfortable transportation to three million passengers a year. The SR6.79 billion design and construction contract for the first phase of civil works was awarded in March 2009 to Al Rajhi Alliance, which comprises China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), Al Arrab Contracting Company Ltd, Al Suwailem Company and the French power and rolling stock company Alstom Transport. Package 2 of the first phase covers construction of four of the five stations. In April 2009, $38m worth of design contracts for the stations in Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and King Abdul Aziz Airport were awarded to a joint venture between Foster & Partners and Buro Happold. In February 2011 the station construction contracts were awarded to Saudi Bin Laden Group (Makkah and Madina) and Saudi Oger (Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City). Phase 2 of the project includes the remaining infrastructure not included in Phase-1: track, signalling, telecommunication, power, electrification etc. It will also include procurement of rolling stock and operations & maintenance for a period of 10
