JEDDAH, 4 April 2007 -- Plans are under way to establish monorails in Makkah and the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat in order to facilitate transport of pilgrims during the peak days of the Haj. The project is estimated to cost SR7 billion.

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Transport Ministry and the Higher Commission for the Development of Makkah and Madinah have welcomed the project after reviewing a study of it. The International Transport Projects Company, which prepared the study, is currently making contacts with authorities to get the license for carrying out the project.

The monorail -- a single rail, usually elevated, with trains suspended from it -- will have four to eight carriages and be able to transport 20,000 passengers per hour. The company has already identified possible track lines for the monorails, which will be operating on highly powerful steel railroads supported by strong concrete pillars. After receiving government approval, the company will conduct an engineering study and coordinate with real estate development projects in Makkah, such as Jabal Omar and Jabal Khandama in order to provide them with monorail stations. Informed sources said the project would be completed within four years.

A similar project will be implemented in Madinah at a later stage.

Dr. Muhammad Naji Kurdi, adviser to the group, said the project would bring about a qualitative development in pilgrim transportation in Makkah and other holy sites. "It will also create new job opportunities for young Saudi graduates, especially in operating monorails and manufacturing carriages and their spare parts," Al-Madinah daily quoted him as saying.

A number of multi-story parking facilities will also be constructed at the entrance of Makkah in order to help pilgrims park their cars before boarding the trains. The new project will also serve pilgrims and other passengers using the Jeddah-Makkah and Madinah-Makkah railways. Under the present plan, four monorail tracks will be established to link Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa in order to transport nearly 800,000 pilgrims during the Haj.

The rail tracks and carriages will be provided with advanced security systems. The monorails will be five and a half meters above the ground and passengers will be able to board or get off by ordinary or electric stairs.

The most important advantage of suspended monorails is that they do not obstruct traffic on the ground. They will be operated by a computer system and the tracks can be shifted easily without problems. Monorails are a secure and safe transport system with a history of nearly 100 years. They are also environment-friendly.

The proposal comes in the wake of a major railway expansion project embarked upon by the Saudi Railways Organization (SRO).

By P.K. Abdul Ghafour

© Arab News 2007