Rail Transport
This section needs to be further expanded
See also: Saudi Railways OrganizationAs a result of over-reliance on road and air travel, the rail transport has not received a similar level of investment in Saudi Arabia. However, there are now plans to add more tracks and develop new railway routes.
The Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) is a state-owned company that operates Saudi Arabia's rail network.
SRO provides freight services on two main lines totalling 1018 km. These connect Riyadh with the port of Dammam on the coast of the Persian Gulf. SRO passenger trains operate between Riyadh and Dammam.
There are plans to extend the network to the Red Sea port of Jeddah and, eventually to the borders of Jordan, Yemen, and perhaps all the way to Egypt.
There is a large scale railway project Haramain High Speed Rail Project underway currently in the Western province, connecting Makkah with Jeddah and Madinah city. The primary objective of this railway line is to provide an alternative for the Muslim pilgrims travelling between the 3 cities.
A recent addition is the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro also known as the Makkah Metro tram system, which was developed in Makkah city. This is a 18.1 kilometers (11.2 miles) track developed to shuttle a forcasted 8 million pilgrims between Mecca, Mount Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina in the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Saudi Arabia
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