The Mecca Metro or Makkah Metro is a
metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
system with four planned lines in the city of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. The Metro was constructed by
China Railway Construction Corporation
China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (abbreviated CRCC) is a listed construction enterprise based in Beijing, China, that was the second largest construction and engineering company in the world by revenue in 2014.
The limited compan ...
and is run by Mecca Mass Rail Transit Company (MMRTC). The metro forms part of the 62-billion-riyal Mecca Public Transport Programe (MPTP), which will include integrated bus services.
The four new metro lines will be in addition to
the existing
Al Mashaer Al Mugaddassah Metro line: 18.1 km, connecting
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, Arafat, Muzdalifa, and Mina opened in November 2010.
Many people utilize the Mecca Metro during the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
. The price for the metro is 250
riyals, with prices lowering to 100 riyals if traveling on the last day of Hajj.
Planning
In August 2012, it was announced that the
Saudi government
The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy along Islamic lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consultation among t ...
had approved a US$16.5 billion budget to build the four metro lines ( long) of the system. The announcement gave an estimated time period to completion of 10 years. Invitations for tenders were due to be issued in January 2013.
Four new lines are to be built. Work had been expected to commence construction in 2015:
*Line : will connect
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
to large multilevel parking facilities from the west to the south.
*Line : is a straight link between Mina and Mecca.
*Line : will connect Mina to the west side of Mecca through a big loop to the north.
*Line : circles Mecca with a straight extension to the north.
Work on the long metro network is now expected to commence in 2016.
MMRTC has appointed
Prasarana Malaysia
Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) (English: Malaysian Infrastructure Limited) is a 100% government-owned company which was set up by Ministry of Finance (Malaysia) as a corporate body established under the Minister of Finance (Incorporation ...
to provide consultancy services during Phase 1, which covers the construction of two metro lines; totaling 45·1 km and 22 stations by 2019.
However, as of February 2017, construction contracts had still not yet been awarded. As of June 2017, construction contracts are expected to be awarded in 2018.
See also
*
Jeddah Metro
The Jeddah Metro is a planned metro system in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Several lines will be built over the course of at least five years that will eventually aim to increase public transport commuter share to 30% from the current 1 to ...
*
Madinah Metro
The Medina Metro or Madinah Metro is a planned three-line Rapid transit, metro system for the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Planning
On 4 November 2013 the Saudi cabinet announced that a metro would be built in Madinah within eight years. A com ...
*
Riyadh Metro
The Riyadh Metro ( ar, قطار الرياض ', ) is a rapid transit system under construction in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. It is part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport and will consist of six metro lines ...
*
Haramain High Speed Rail Project
*
Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro line
The Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro line, ( ar, قطار المشاعر المقدسة الخط الجنوبي ''qtar al mashaaer al muqaddassah al khat diljanubi'') is a metro line in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Claimed to have the hig ...
References
External links
Makkah at ''UrbanRail.net''
{{Rapid transit in Asia
Rapid transit in Saudi Arabia
Proposed rapid transit
Proposed rail infrastructure in Saudi Arabia