Monorail to Makkah will be in use by next Haj - official

Riyadh: An official at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs said the Monorail project that links Makkah with the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifa and Arafat will be operational during next year's Haj season. (1431H).

"The project will be fully operational by the Haj of 2012 (1433H)," he told Gulf News. The project, which will cost 6.65 billion Saudi riyals (Dh6.51 billion), will facilitate smooth flow of some three million Haj pilgrims to and from Makkah and the holy sites.

The source, who requested anonymity, said the monorail will accommodate nearly 500,000 pilgrims and will reduce the walking time of six hours to six minutes. "The trains will transport about 60,000 Haj pilgrims in an hour."

There will be three stations at Mina, Muzdalifa and Arafat, linked to the monorail. About 35 per cent of the capacity of the project would be used during the Haj season of 1431H and full capacity by the Haj of 1433H.

China Railway Company has been awarded with the project. The contract was signed in the presence of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Riyadh in February.