Work began Sunday on the foundations of the Haramain Train raised track down the central island of the Makkah to Jeddah Highway and joining the Old Makkah Road with Bahra, despite reservations over the plans from government authorities. The two-track seven-meter-high line will run from Makkah to Madina via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City, but its route through Jeddah is the subject of a joint report from the Traffic Department, the Mayor's Office and the Aviation Authority. According to Al-Watan Arabic daily, the report contains 42 observations concerning the proposed site of the main train station in the south Jeddah district of Al-Ruwabi as well as the general line of the 40 km track up to King Abdul Aziz Airport. The report, Al-Watan said Sunday, is requesting that the line be modified, expressing concerns that it may, counter to expectations, increase congestion in the city as well as the cost of the project due to the building and modification of overpasses and the removal of property. The report also expresses fears that the line runs along areas threatened by floods. The report cites reservations concerning the budget saying that the location of the station will incur considerable costs in altering traffic routes in the vicinity, which will also lead to increased congestion. It also expresses concern over the infrastructure to the east of the highway where the areas most severely affected by flooding in November lie, Al-Watan said. The Ministry of Transport, however, said that the line had been drawn up following detailed studies and that it was able to surmount any difficulties at minimal cost and within the time frame for the project. According to plans, the 300kmph Haramain Train will connect Makkah and Jeddah with double tracks covering 78km, reducing the time of the journey between the two cities to under half an hour, and will traverse the 372km between Jeddah and Madina in approximately two hours. The committee charged with assessing properties to make way for improvements to junctions as the train line passes through Jeddah has, meanwhile, identified 500 properties as well as land plots at junction overpasses at Al-Hujaj, the Air Base, Brayman, and Tahliya.
