Type High Speed Rail Termini Medina
Mecca | Status under construction Stations 5 | |
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System Saudi Railway Organization Daily ridership 150K a day, 50 MN annually | ||
The Haramain High Speed Rail project also known as the "Western Railway" or "Makkah-Medina high speed railway", is a 453.0 kilometres (281.5 mi) (449.2 kilometres of main line, plus a branch connection to KAIA airport: 3.75) high-speed inter-city rail transport system under construction in Saudi Arabia. It will link the Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca via King Abdullah Economic City, Rabigh, Jeddah, and King Abdulaziz International Airport. It will connect with the national network at Jeddah. The project is delayed and was originally planned to open in 2012. As of November 2016 the whole project is scheduled to be open in March 2018 with partial operations from December 2017.
Contents
The rail line is planned to provide a safe and comfortable transport in 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph) electric trains. Construction started in March 2009. The railway is expected to carry three million passengers a year, including many Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, helping to relieve traffic congestion on the roads.
Design
The double-track line will be electrified and the design speed is 320 kilometres per hour (200 mph). Trains will run in service at 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph), and travelling the 78 kilometres (48 mi) between Jeddah and Makkah will take less than half an hour, while the 410 kilometres (250 mi) between Jeddah and Medina will take about 2 hours. The track, rolling stock and stations are designed to handle the temperatures ranging from 0 °C (32 °F) to 50 °C (122 °F).
Stations
There will be five stations on the line at:
The Makkah Central Station will be located near the 3rd Ring Road. The Jeddah Central Station will be located on the Haramain Road. The railway alignment route will be on the median of the Haramain road. The Station in KAIA will be a terminus station. Medina will have only one passenger station. A station may be required for the Hajj Terminal at Jeddah Airport.
According to Saudi Railways Organization the stations will be "aesthetically iconic" buildings with designs which take into account Islamic architectural traditions. They will have shops, restaurants, mosques, car parking, a helipad and VIP lounges. Stations were designed by Buro Happold and Foster + Partners.
Trains
36 Talgo 350 SRO trains have been ordered, one of these is a VIP Dual (hybrid) for the Saudi royal family for up to 20 or 30 people; they will run at 300 km/h. The propulsion and bogies would be made at Bombardier factories in Spain.
Package 1
The 6.79 billion riyal (US$1.8 billion) design and construction contract for Phase I Package 1 – Civil Works for the project was awarded in March 2009 to Al Rajhi Alliance, which comprises China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), Al Arrab Contracting Company Ltd, Al Suwailem Company and the French power and rolling stock company Alstom Transport. It is cooperating with the consultant Saudi Consolidated Engineering Company (Khatib & Alami - K&A). Scott Wilson Group will provide project management support.
Package 2
Phase I Package 2 covers construction of four of the five stations. In April 2009, $38 million worth of design contracts for the stations in Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and King Abdul Aziz Airport were awarded to a joint venture between Foster + Partners and Buro Happold. In February 2011 the station construction contracts were awarded to Joint Venture between Saudi Oger Ltd & El Seif Engineering for (KAEC (Rabigh) & Jeddah Stations), Saudi Bin laden (Makkah Station) and a Turkish Company "Yapi Merkezi" for Madinah Station.
Phase II
Phase 2 of the project includes the remaining infrastructure not included in Phase-1: track, signalling, telecommunications, power, electrification, etc. It also includes procurement of rolling stock and operations and maintenance for a period of 12 years after completion.
Prequalified consortia for HHR Phase 2 included Saudi Binladin Group, Badr Consortium, China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock, Al-Shoula Group and Al-Rajhi Alliance.
On 26 October 2011,at the Saudi Railways Organization announced that the Saudi-Spanish consortium Al‑Shoula Group, which includes Talgo, Renfe, Adif, Copasa, Imathia, Consultrans, Ineco, Cobra, Indra, Dimetronic, Inabensa, OHL, AL-Shoula and Al-Rosan, had been chosen for the contract. Talgo will supply 35 Talgo 350 trains similar to 102/112 series used on Spanish high-speed lines for EUR 1.257 billion, 1.600 with maintenance and an option for 23 more for 800 millions. They differ from the 112 series with 13 cars to 417 seats Renfe and Adif will operate the trains and manage the line for 12 years.
The total contract value is EUR 6.736 billion (approximately US$9.4 billion).