Cairo: A shuttle train service linking the Saudi sacred city of Mecca to other holy sites in the kingdom transported as many as 2.1 million passengers during the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage season, the operator has said.
The Al Mashaer Train, launched in 2010 to transport pilgrims, operates between nine stations located in the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.
The final station lies near the Jamarat Bridge in Mina where pilgrims annually perform the symbolic rite of stoning the devil.
The 2.1 million passengers were transported over 2,208 journeys during the seven-day operation of the service starting from the seventh of Dhul Hajjah, the 12th and final month of the Islamic lunar calendar, the Saudi Railway Company SAR said.
The figure included 22,400 passengers transported on the 7th of Dhul Hajjah, the day preceding the onset of Hajj rites.
The high-speed electric train has a capacity of transporting 72,000 people per hour.
The service aims to provide a fast, comfortable and environmentally friendly mode of transportation to the holy sites during the Hajj season.
In the run-up to this year’s Hajj season, which saw the numbers of pilgrims returning to pre-pandemic levels, Saudi Arabia maximised efforts of the agencies concerned to ensure the faithful perform the rites smoothly.
Saudi Arabia lifted limits on the numbers and ages of pilgrims from around the world for this year’s Hajj after COVID-19 forced the curtailment of the numbers of pilgrims for three consecutive years.
Around 1.8 million pilgrims, including 1.6 million from abroad, attended this year’s Hajj, according to Saudi official figures.
