Makkah Metro ready to serve Haj pilgrims

Riyadh: The Makkah Metro will begin operating this Haj at 33 per cent capacity, transporting local and GCC pilgrims in its first phase, Saudi Haj Minister Fouad Abdul Salam Al Farsi said Thursday.

It is expected that the train will operate at full capacity next year.

Approximately 1.7 million pilgrims will travel to Makkah this year to perform their religious duties. During the past eight months, more than 2.6 million Umrah pilgrims have entered and exited Saudi Arabia.

Many pilgrims opt to stay illegally in the kingdom after performing Haj, but close monitoring by the Haj Ministry was able to reduce the number of overstayers.

Cooling system

Dr Habib Zain Al Abdeen, undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in Makkah, told Gulf News that a new cooling system is being introduced in the Jamarat area.