JEDDAH: The winner of the contract for the final phase of works on the Haramain Train project will be announced in two weeks' time, an official source said. “The final phase entails the provision of rail tracks, carriages, signal points and electrical fittings,” he said, adding that the first phase of works on the project are being carried out by a Saudi company. The source also revealed that the bridge connecting pilgrim terminals with the Haramain Highway will be completed within 60 days, and described the bridge as a vital part of the project for the improvement of bridges in the Haramain Train project. He said the 100-meter long and 23-meter wide construction will host six junctions, with a central separating island 16 meters wide and a two-meter supporting wall. All the junctions will be open to traffic in 60 days' time, he said. “Work is ongoing to reconstruct the air base bridge, while the bridge project on the Makkah to Jeddah Highway will be opened in Ramadan,” he said. “At the moment work is being done to demarcate land for appropriation for the Haramain Train project in the districts of Al-Fallah, Al-Riyadh and Al-Harazat. The land will be of approximately four square kilometers.” Five other junctions on the Haramain Highway are also undergoing improvement works to fit in with the path of the Haramain Train, he said. The Haramain Train project is a 444 km high-speed inter-city rail transport system linking the holy cities of Makkah and Madina via King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. The railway line is planned to provide a safe and comfortable transport in 320 kph electric trains. The railway is expected to carry three million passengers a year, including many Haj and Umrah pilgrims, helping to relieve traffic congestion on the roads. Trains traveling the 78 km between Jeddah and Makkah will take less than half an hour, while the 410 km between Jeddah and Madina will take about two hours.
