Mashair to transport pilgrims from more countries this year

By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS

Published: Oct 6, 2011 23:07 Updated: Oct 6, 2011 23:07

JEDDAH: The Mashair Railway will transport more than 500,000 pilgrims this Haj season when it operates at full capacity for the first time, a senior government official said. The service links the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

“The railway will charge SR250 from each pilgrim for using the facility throughout the Haj season from Dul Hijjah 7 to 13,” said Habib Zaine Al-Abidine, deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs. This includes traveling from Mina to Arafat and from Arafat to Muzdalifah and back to Mina during the peak days of Haj.

He said Mashair would transport 90,000 pilgrims per hour. “No railway in the world has the facility to transport such a huge number of people within a short period,” he pointed out.

This year the railway would serve domestic and Gulf pilgrims as well as 200,000 South Asian pilgrims in addition to pilgrims from Arab countries. Zaine Al-Abidine hoped the transportation of pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah on the 9th day of Dul Hijjah would be completed in five hours. He requested the media to encourage pilgrims and Tawafa organizations to make use of the railway.

The minister indicated that the railway could be used throughout the year to promote tourism, especially to transport Umrah pilgrims who want to visit holy sites. The ministry has set up a well-equipped maintenance center to ensure the railway’s uninterrupted service. The center covers an area of 800,000 square meters and includes a remote-control center.

Zaine Al-Abidine said the transportation of pilgrims from Mina to Arafat would start at 11 p.m. on Dul Hijjah 8 and would continue until 10 a.m. the next day. He disclosed plans to extend the railway to Makkah and link it with the Haramain Railway that would link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah.

Pilgrims and Haj organizers have been happy with the project, which was carried out at a cost of SR6.5 billion. “The railway has been found very useful as it facilitates transport of pilgrims between the holy sites,” said Abdul Bashir Abdul Jaleel, coordinator of KRW that provides voluntary services to pilgrims.

“We have found the railway very safe,” he said, adding that it ensures safety of pilgrims by deploying officials at railway stations to monitor the entry and exit of passengers. Pilgrims can use the facility several times during the Haj season after paying SR250. However, he pointed out that authorities would instruct pilgrims belonging to different Tawafa organizations to board the train at specific times to avoid congestion.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article512856.ece