By Innovation-sa on May 22, 2018 in News
The high-speed Haramain Express train connecting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah will roll out this September with four trains per week, in the beginning, followed by daily services by September 2019, the Spanish consortium building the project announced on Thursday.
The 300kph high-speed intercity rail transport system linking Madinah and Makkah via King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) at Jeddah, initially scheduled to start operating by the end of 2016, had a budget overrun of 210 million euros, which Saudi Arabia agreed to pay.
Earlier in 2011, Saudi Arabia awarded the 6.7 billion euros contract to the consortium of 12 Spanish companies and two Saudi companies for laying 444 kilometers of track between Makkah and Madinah, providing 35 trains and maintaining the line for 12 years.
However, the project faced many obstacles as disagreements surfaced among members of the consortium over who is responsible for resolving and paying for the cost of overruns. Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman’s recent visit to Spain played a vital role in resolving the disputes over the delays in completing the project.
Source:
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/535093/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-high-speed-rail-line-to-start-operating-in-September