The Haramain Train will complete the journey from Makkah to Jeddah in 30 minutes, and Jeddah to Madina in two hours, using advanced communication and signaling systems and passing through seven intersections on the Al-Haramain Road in the east of Jeddah, Emir of Makkah Prince Khaled Al-Faisal heard on Tuesday. The Emir – along with Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour Bin Mite'b, Minister of Transport Jubara Al-Suraisiri, Assistant Minister of Interior Prince Muhammad Bin Naif and Mayor of Jeddah Adel Fakeih – viewed a presentation Tuesday of the train's capabilities and facilities, and discussed coordination between the relevant bodies and their presence at the sites during the execution of the project. The Haramain Train property valuation committee, meanwhile, looked at 10 apartment blocks located on the course of the train project Tuesday and is scheduled to look Wednesday at 40 properties on the west side of Abdullah Oraif Street in Makkah and further properties Thursday. A member of committee, which is making compensation estimates for a total of 670 properties to be demolished to make way for the train, said that assessment included properties on the planned site of the Umm Al-Qura Train Station, and although he was reluctant to give an estimated square meter value for land, it is expected that figures will fall between SR3,000 and SR4,000, varying according to location. The assessment committee is made up of representatives from the ministries of Interior, Justice, Finance, Transport, and officials from the Jeddah Mayoralty, Saudi Railways Organization and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and has already completed valuations of properties in the vicinity of highway overpasses in Al-Sulaimaniya, Tahliya, Brayman and Al-Nuzha, and the Airbase and the area of Pilgrims' Building.
