Haramain high-speed railway 90% complete

Saudi Arabia’s Haramain high-speed railway project is 90 percent complete, as 429 kilometers (km) of the 447 km track work under the first phase has now been finished, the Makkah Secretariat said on Twitter recently.

Construction work on the railway is on track for completion by the end of this year, official sources said, refuting earlier reports that suggested delays due to overdue wages to workers on the project.

The rail network will begin a trial run from the main station in Jeddah this month and will later start operations after 2017 to ensure that it meets all safety and security standards.

The secretariat also confirmed that world’s largest 70 meter-wide overpass was also completed as part of the project.

The high-speed rail links Makkah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia’s holy cities, passing through Jeddah and Rabigh.

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is reportedly in the process of setting up six substations that will supply the trains on the route with power.