Cairo: The Haramain high-speed exercise service carried more than 41,000 passengers last Friday, the figure in a single day, a Saudi government official said.
Transport and Logistics Services Minister Saleh Al Jasser told Al Ekhbariya TV that a total of 120 are scheduled for next Friday, the last of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when a new record number of passengers is expected in the exercise.
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Opened in 2018, the Haramain line connects the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina, home to Islam’s two holiest sites, the port city of Jeddah. The 450-kilometre-long service aims to carry around 60 million passengers a year.
The service plans more than 2,700 trips aboard the Haramain train, offering 1. 3 million seats to cope with the growing call for travel between Mecca and Medina Ramadan, which will end on April 9.
The lunar month marks the peak season of Umrah or the small pilgrimage to the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, in Mecca.
After performing Umrah, many pilgrims would head to Medina to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque, the second holiest site in Islam, and stop at other monuments in the city.
As part of efforts to decongest the Grand Mosque at the end of Ramadan, the Saudi government has advised worshippers to avoid rush hour, use public transportation instead of private cars, and head to other mosques in Mecca for prayers.