Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line is an electric shuttle train that connects the holy sites in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, starting from Arafat, passing through Muzdalifah, and ending at the Jamarat Bridge. The train operates for seven days during the Hajj season. It was launched for the first time in 2010 and has a capacity of 350,000 passengers. The Saudi Arabia Railway (SAR) has been managing and operating this line since 2019 under a decision by the Council of Ministers.
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro line
The construction works for Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro were carried out by the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) within approximately two years. The railway extends for eighteen km, with seventeen trains operating on an automated system. Each train consists of twelve carriages, totaling 204 carriages, each accommodating three hundred passengers. The trains reach speeds of up to eighty km/h, covering the distance between Mina and Arafat in approximately twenty minutes. Each train has a capacity of three thousand passengers, with a total passenger capacity of 72,000 passengers per hour.
Al-Mashaaer al-Mugaddassah Metro Line stations
The holy sites (Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina) host nine stations, with each site containing three elevated train stations, each three hundred m long. These stations are equipped with ramps, elevators, and both standard and electric escalators. They also feature automatic gates that separate the train from waiting areas, operating with sensor technology to identify ticket holders. The train passes through three different stations in Arafat site, then three more in Muzdalifah, before stopping at the first station at the entrance of Mina site, then at a central station, and finally reaching its last station on the fourth level of the Jamarat Bridge facility. The design of the train stations takes into account the number of entry and exit doors, with sixty doors on each side to facilitate the movement of pilgrims during their journey by metro.
Supporting projects for Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line is linked to several supporting projects that aid pilgrims and facilitate the performance of their rituals. These include the project for shading pedestrian pathways and ramps and the project connecting Al-Aziziyah Neighbourhood to the Jamarat facility through a series of tunnels and shaded walkways to protect pilgrims from the sun and other weather conditions.
Transporting pilgrims via Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah determines the number of pilgrims transported by Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line and provides them with color-coded wristbands to specify their boarding and disembarkation stations for organizational purposes. Workers serving the pilgrims receive all-station tickets to facilitate their movement and ensure the provision of services needed in the camps during the days of Hajj. Security personnel and official employees also benefit from the train services through their respective administrations, which coordinate with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the supervising and operating entities of the train stations. Crowds are guided to the stations along designated routes to waiting areas beneath the stations, which can accommodate over three thousand pilgrims.
Crowd management in Al-Mashaaer al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
The crowd management project in Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line helps regulate, sort, and organize the movement of pilgrims along the pathways leading to the train station gates. It ensures ticket holders are filtered at the train gates, manages and organizes pilgrim movement beneath the train stations, facilitates their access to station platforms via elevators and stairways, protects station fences and gates, and prevents unregulated seating inside the stations.
Makkah Province Development Authority has launched a smart application to connect pilgrims with the crowd control center of Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line, allowing for the organization of their movements from camps to train according to their scheduled travel times. This application serves as a link between group leaders and the control room at the Crowd Management Center, containing the scheduled timings for pilgrim movement. It also enables the relevant authorities to prepare for the movement of each group according to their respective designated schedule.
Additionally, SAR contracts approximately 7,500 seasonal employees proficient in multiple languages, including English, Turkish, Urdu, Indonesian, and Nigerian, in addition to Arabic, to manage crowds inside metro stations.
Operating system of Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line operates on a frequency-based system (metro), with train movements organized based on the daily needs during the Hajj season and the specific rituals assigned for each day. The train’s routes and stops are determined from the seventh day of Dhul-Hijjah until the end of the Tashreeq days through five scheduled movements, managed from the main operations and control center. At the end of each Hajj season, an evaluation of operations is conducted, and plans for the following season are reviewed. Maintenance of trains and railway tracks, as well as upgrades to operational systems, commence immediately after the conclusion of each Hajj season. The train is commissioned for sixty days during the months of Shawwal and Dhul-Qidah, gradually preparing for full operation. A full-scale simulation of Hajj movements is then carried out to assess the readiness of systems and equipment for actual operation.
Control center of Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
The control and operations center utilizes advanced technologies to ensure the train operates with the highest safety and security standards, preventing risks or accidents. The center is responsible for managing all emergencies at stations by providing rapid intervention when needed. The control center directs the train conductor through all movement points within the holy sites, coordinating with relevant authorities and external entities. Station monitoring is conducted through 1,500 surveillance cameras installed across all stations, enabling precise guidance for on-site teams.
In emergencies, the control and operations center dispatches rapid response teams upon receiving an alert from the station or train conductor. This ensures immediate support is provided at stations before the train arrives, preventing disruptions to scheduled journeys.
Number of passengers transported by Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line
During the Hajj season of 2023, Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line transported over 2.13 million passengers between Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah stations over seven days, from the seventh to the thirteenth day of Dhul-Hijjah (the last day of Tashreeq). This was achieved through 2,208 shuttle trips.
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line is environment-friendly
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line has removed approximately fifty thousand passenger buses from the roads, reducing traffic congestion and contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions. The train operates on electric power, making its carbon emissions effectively zero. As an environmental-friendly system, it helps preserve the environment in the holy sites and safeguards the public health of pilgrims performing Hajj.
Awards of Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line project
Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line project was selected by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) as one of the top twenty-four projects worldwide in the past one hundred years, recognizing its excellence and contribution to improving living conditions, alleviating congestion, and maintaining environmental cleanliness by reducing pollution caused by vehicle emissions. Additionally, the project won the Franz Edelman Award in the United States under the category of "Jamarat Facility" for the best-applied research and operational studies.