HE the minister of transport Dr. Nabeel Al-Amudi assure the readiness of all transportation services in the holy cities of Makkah and Al Madinah for the Hajj season this year (9-14 August), after an inspection tour with the presidents and the senior executives of the transport sector entities. During the tour, they participated with the welcoming committee in receiving the first pilgrims coming to Makkah via Al-Haramain high-speed train.
All government and private sectors were directed by King Salman bin Abdulaziz and HRH Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman to follow up all their integrated preparation plans to serve the pilgrims. For that, the land transport network underwent inclusive inspection and maintenance procedures. Al-Haramain high-speed railway (450km) and Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro (20km) along with 5259Km of roads and 926 bridges were checked and cleared for traffic safety measurements. In this context, by connecting 71500km of roads, Saudi Arabia ranked second in Road connectivity index according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2018.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Haramain high-speed train that connects the two holy cities with Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport is expected to serve 158,000 pilgrims in 64 trips, weekly. While Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro (MMM) is expected to serve 360,000 pilgrims through Mount Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina in over 2000 trips weekly.