# SAUDI ARABIA | High Speed Rail



## fanspy (Nov 12, 2013)

압둘라-爱- LOVE;109130646 said:


> there is another GCC railway project (Engineering design phase)
> 
> [ riyadh- doha - dubai - kuwait -oman - bahrain railway]


 Do you have any links so we can read about this?


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

fanspy said:


> Do you have any links so we can read about this?


sure..


http://www.english.globalarabnetwor...man-gulf-railway-to-be-completed-by-2017.html

*link:*

*GCC rail network to link all 6 Gulf states by 2018*

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/t...k-to-link-all-6-gulf-states-by-2018-1.1248632


*other links:*

1- http://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc-railway

2- http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/21/142423.html


*PDF link:*


http://www.constructarabia.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/09/GCC-rail.pdf

*other PDF file :*



https://www.google.co.kr/url?sa=t&r...hpBxr3t6D1ns-mQ&bvm=bv.57155469,d.dGI&cad=rjt





*wiki:*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Railway


*Finally Railway map:*


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## hqho1671 (Dec 15, 2012)

Roukaya19 said:


> Jeddah Haramain Station
> 
> 22 November 2013


From Saudi forum


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*Haramain High-speed Railway Offers Major Convenience and Reduction in Travel Time.
*
KAEC will be one of the 4 stops on the Haramain High-speed Railway network and will dramatically reduce the travel time between cities to service the region's 8.5 million people. Travel times will reduce to just 24 minutes from Jeddah to KAEC and 37 minutes from KAEC to Jeddah's Balad District in the South. 

445 K
train speed: 350 km/h


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

in spanish


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## el palmesano (May 27, 2006)

압둘라-爱- LOVE;109711762 said:


> in spanish


much bigger

http://ingenieriaenlared.files.word...eca-tendra-acento-espac3b1ol-abc-14_10_12.jpg


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

By Roukaya19

*Medina Haramain station progress*

15 December 2013


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*The Al Haramain train design has changed.... to
*






















*Inside: First class*


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## franciscoc (Feb 7, 2012)

that model is Talgo Avril


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## franciscoc (Feb 7, 2012)




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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*First class
*


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## drezdinski (Apr 19, 2013)

Looks great on the inside, and ridiculous on the outside.


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

^^

Yeah, the interior looks gorgeous! Very luxurious. I agree that the train doesn't look so great...looks like a duck.


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## sombra2 (Jul 29, 2008)

FM 2258 said:


> ^^
> 
> Yeah, the interior looks gorgeous! Very luxurious. I agree that the train doesn't look so great...looks like a duck.


:lol::lol::lol::lol:


actually, we call those trains in Spain "little ducks", I'm not joking!! 

Talgo series 102 and 112 are called that way!!


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## Xoser_barcelona (Jul 15, 2008)

I love this project and you can like the train or not, I do, many don't. I am unsettled by the whole idea of working on these projects with the likes of KSA, but that is for a whole other type of forum. My question relates to the religious boundaries around Mekkah, and how this works out during construction. I am sure all people building on the site are Muslims, but were/are any non-muslims involved in this station project and if so, what role do they have and does it matter they cannot visit the site?


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*[new update]Site working .. 2 days ago
*



압둘라-爱- LOVE said:


> *2 days ago
> 
> Insta~
> *


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

:banana: with OHL



압둘라-爱- LOVE said:


> *[New Update] Haramain high speed rail*


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*In spanish 
*









badr2 said:


>


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

Roukaya19 said:


> Medina Haramain station
> 
> 14 April 2014
> 
> ...


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

^^

Interesting. Medina's gonna be a terminus station? I guess no provisions for expanding through Medina. What a gorgeous station.


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

goocheslamb said:


> buidlings stuff does not change their mentality, they will have the tallest building soon but the same mentality


Do you mean this building ?













if you don't like this building, then what do you like!! 


and here we talking about railway not building , 

if you have something about train or railway you'r welcome if not keep watching !


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## Sopomon (Oct 2, 2010)

Blah blah blah there are many different insinuations created by the word 'progressive' blah blah blah semantic discussions


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## tiagra (Jan 8, 2013)

goocheslamb said:


> buidlings stuff does not change their mentality, they will have the tallest building soon but the same mentality


Isn't freedom to let other people live how they wanted to?!
or that excluded to middle eastern! 
we live based on our religion and culture and guess what we are totally happy. 
and I don't wanna hear that from people that do (swapping couples or wives for sex, have sex with animals, group sex, drugs, etc.) hno:
Do you really think your life is mentally healthy! :lol:
and we don't wanna prove from you on our development since it meant to us citizen of Saudi Arabia.
You want to give us respect and contribute here your welcome otherwise just ignore the thread. 
and remember that you freedom, rights, and culture ends in your country border and not meant for all countries!!!


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## Stainless (Jun 7, 2009)

tiagra said:


> and I don't wanna hear that from people that do (swapping couples or wives for sex, have sex with animals, group sex, drugs, etc.) hno:
> Do you really think your life is mentally healthy! :lol:


I don't think anyone considers most of those things regular things to do (I can only tick off two of those :lol I don't see why that is not mentally healthy. I would put money on these things going on just as much in Saudi too, with the locals too, not the expat community.



tiagra said:


> remember that you freedom, rights, and culture ends in your country border and not meant for all countries!!!


Freedom and rights are for all countries, for all humans, they are not a western plot to destroy all other cultures. To think that one country should have different rights to another one is an absurd notion. What if somebody doesn't believe the same religion, which as a belief system you can't force on someone?


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## GulfArabia (Feb 15, 2009)

tiagra said:


> and I don't wanna hear that from people that do (swapping couples or wives for sex, have sex with animals, group sex, drugs, etc.) hno:
> Do you really think your life is mentally healthy! :lol:



hno: What !? You're embarrassing.


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Railway Gazette:



> http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...m-high-speed-line-study-contract-awarded.html
> 
> *Riyadh - Dammam high speed line study contract awarded*
> 03 Sep 2014
> ...


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

^^

*Good news *


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

new high speed rail project in saudi arabia 




> *Saudi Arabia plans second high-speed line*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

압둘라-爱- LOVE;117165547 said:


> new high speed rail project in saudi arabia


No, but... is this serious?? I can understand the HS line between Mekkah and Medinah and I can understand the freight corridor between Riadh and Damman that is already planned. Here, I can see an economic rationale. But...

...adding HS tracks to the latter corridor? To me that sounds a bit like "prestige hunting" rather than a sound infrastructure project.


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## IHK (Sep 8, 2014)

The Saudis building the first highspeed rail in the Gulf States.

What about UAE,Kuwait,Qatar ?


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ They are very small countries.

As Riyadh-Dammam line, SRO wants to double the current 5 services per direction. Does not seem much. 
Also want to renew the current line at a time, does not seem very logical.


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

IHK said:


> The Saudis building the first highspeed rail in the Gulf States.
> 
> What about UAE,Kuwait,Qatar ?



they have time . until 2018 .








*railway between saudi arabia and bahraine
*



> *New Bahrain-Saudi causeway to cost $5bn, says minister*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## HiJazzey (Jun 26, 2003)

hans280 said:


> No, but... is this serious?? I can understand the HS line between Mekkah and Medinah and I can understand the freight corridor between Riadh and Damman that is already planned. Here, I can see an economic rationale. But...
> 
> ...adding HS tracks to the latter corridor? To me that sounds a bit like "prestige hunting" rather than a sound infrastructure project.


Actually, if there's any HSR project in the region that's commercially viable this is it. You have 2 of the largest metros in the region (population and economy) and a perfect distance for HSR. If you include a potential through route extension to Bahrain, you have a ridership catchment of over 10 million people in a line under 500km distance


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*Medina station 90% has Done ! 
*


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*Medina Station *



Roukaya19 said:


> Haramain train project in Medina
> Completion of 90%
> 
> 
> ...


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## mwinyi (Oct 13, 2007)

So thia years Hajjis will.usebthebtrain from Jeddah to Makkah to Minnah to Arafa to Muzadalifah to Jamrat?


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

mwinyi said:


> So thia years Hajjis will.usebthebtrain from Jeddah to Makkah to Minnah to Arafa to Muzadalifah to Jamrat?


From next year ( from KAEC to Medina ) >> Haramain HSR

for Minna to Arafat to Muzdalifa to Jamarat , they can use almashaer metro .


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*Medina Station 
*
almost done 



압둘라-爱- LOVE;118028984 said:


> *Medina Station
> *


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

^^

The station looks great! :cheers:


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

^^

The station looks great! :cheers:


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## Battuta (Feb 16, 2012)

.


*Jeddah’s rail station soon to be operational*
Sunday, 08 March 2015 - 17 Jumada Al-Awwal 1436 H


*JEDDAH — More than 4,500 people, including engineers, technicians and workers are racing against time to apply the finishing touches to the Haramain Railway’s Jeddah station within the stipulated period of two months.*

The works on the state-of-the art station complex, with a fiberglass roofing, are expected to be completed by the end of April, paving the way for experimental operation of the 450 km high-speed Haramain Railway, linking the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah and Rabigh, by the middle of the year.

Apart from relieving road congestion for millions of pilgrims and citizens, the high-speed railroad is expected to cut down the amount of time taken to travel between Makkah and Madinah to two hours, and between Jeddah and Makkah to half an hour. The railway is expected to carry three million passengers a year.

Zohdi Al-Owaiwini, director of the Jeddah station project, said that the station, spread over a sprawling area of 461,000 square meters, is unique in its features. It is equipped with highly advanced facilities to offer the best ever services and top standard comfort for the passengers, Al-Madinah daily reported.

There are *70 escalators, each 32 meters long,* without any support in the middle, connecting the platforms and the lounge for passengers coming from outside Jeddah.

Al-Owaiwini said the escalators would be the longest of its kind in the Middle East region. There are *308 units of escalators at the station*, in addition to similar escalators at all the other ultra-modern passenger stations in Jeddah airport, Makkah, Madinah, and Rabigh.

Finishing touches to offices and counters for baggage screening, passport control, and other services, as well as commercial shops, including world brand outlets of commercial stores, fast-food chains, and accessories are also progressing well. 

Ahmed Gossa, construction manager at the station, said that the mosque, with a capacity of 600 passengers, is located at an ideal venue in between the arrival and departure lounges. The Civil Defense Center, which is sited adjacent to the station on the northern side, is nearly ready and will be handed over soon to the concerned authorities. There is a helipad close to the center to be used in case of emergency. 

*The parking area*, situated on the western side, can accommodate *6,000 vehicles* and there are separate areas for short time and long time parking. There is also a mechanism to link the station with the public transport system, which will be implemented in Jeddah in due course.

The Haramain project is over two years late and was originally planned to open in 2012 after construction had begun in March 2009. The Madinah-Rabigh section is scheduled for services by the end of 2015, suggesting a phased opening.


http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150308236183


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## Battuta (Feb 16, 2012)

^^









Work on the escalators linking the platforms and the lounge for passengers coming from outside Jeddah

Source : _Saoudi Gazette_


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

PICS update



Saleh93 said:


> قام وزير النقل رئيس مجلس إدارة المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية المهندس عبدالله بن عبدالرحمن المقبل، أمس الأول، بجولة ميدانية شاملة على مشروع قطار الحرمين السريع بجميع أجزائه ومراحله ومكوناته، وعدد من مشروعات الطرق التي تقوم الوزارة بتنفيذها في المدينة المنورة.
> 
> استهل "المقبل" جولته بتفقد الأجزاء التي يجري تنفيذها من مشروع طريق الملك خالد "الدائري الثالث بالمدينة المنورة"، ومشروع ازدواج طريق "المدينة المنورة-حائل"؛ حيث وجه بضرورة بذل المزيد من الجهد وتوفير المعدات المطلوبة والعمالة اللازمة لتلافي التأخر وإنهاء أعمال المشروعين في المدة المحددة لهما في العقود.
> 
> ...


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Gusiluz said:


> As we have seen in officer Google Earth of the project, that have changed some kilometric markers on the original project.
> 
> 001.000 Station Mecca
> 005.400 Light Workshop (first level)
> ...



078.500 Jeddah Central Station












































Part of the train path between

078.500 Jeddah Central Station *&* 092.800 By-pass for Jeddah KAIA Airport


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## abu busyra (Apr 20, 2015)

wow great project. just that the ET doesn't look very nice...


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## voyager221 (Mar 8, 2015)

압둘라-爱- LOVE;123333626 said:


> PICS update


Will sand and wind be a problem later?


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## loefet (Dec 30, 2008)

^^ I would guess that it will be a problem, hitting a sandbank that have been blown onto the tracks could cause a derailment, also thundering through a sandstorm at 300+ km/h could cause some serious damages to the trains, it will literally be to run the train straight into a sandblasting chamber.

But on the other hand, then if they design the track in a good way, then they could mitigate some of the sand build up.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ It is a recurring theme, both here and in Spanish Forum.



Gusiluz said:


> The Al–Shoula Consortium are not worried about the temperatures, but the sand is a problem. According to vice president of Talgo: "The temperature gradient in Saudi Arabia is similar to Spain. The construction technique will be similar to that used in our country. "
> 
> What I know pretends to increase AC equipment, an internal pressure to prevent the entry of dust, redundancy of equipment and installation of a back-up to the main power failure.
> The fact is that lose power happens to be a nuisance (anywhere) to be very dangerous in the middle of the desert. Also keep in mind the electric fields created by sandstorms. At about 45 km in area 4 is installed slab track type RHEDA 2000 concrete retaining walls 1.6 meters high and pitfalls (trenches) for sand.
> ...


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Gusiluz said:


> As we have seen in officer Google Earth of the project, that have changed some kilometric markers on the original project.
> 
> 001.000 Station Mecca
> 005.400 Light Workshop (first level)
> ...



092.800 By-pass for Jeddah KAIA Airport


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Second Talgo 350 SRO Haramain*

The second Talgo 350 SRO Haramain train runs between factory Rivabellosa (Alava) to the Las Matas (Madrid) for the assembly of the power cars.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Official calendar for trains*

Official calendar before delays Phase 1.1 (platform building for consortium Al Rajhi Alliance):

First trains in the Kingdom: December 2014
Start of the test (in the test stage): April 2015
Final of the test (operating license): November 2016
Start of operation: December 2016

A source: Page 179

The first unit is shipped on December 12, 2014 in the port of Barcelona to move it to the port of Jeddah.
In April they expected to send the second and from September Talgo trains sent every three months.

So it was impossible to start operations between KAEC and Medina in December 2015, as planned from the beginning was to have only two trains tested on that date.
Now they talk about 2016.
By the way, the information has to be wrong, a few days ago they announced the start of testing (which may last eight months due to the sand) for the next 45 days.

More interesting is another detail of the first news, the announcement of an express service (I imagine without stops) with a duration of 1 hour and 50 minutes at 244 km/h on average with a top speed of 300.
This service was already announced (page 176 of the first link), but with a duration of 2 hours.

More information and resources on Wikipedia (in Spanish): Haramain and Talgo 350 SRO


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Train track north of Jeddah Central Station


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## abu busyra (Apr 20, 2015)

Wow.. Some of the HSR alignment is elevated a bit


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Photos of the transfer second Talgo 350 SRO train from magazine Via Libre:


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

KAEC Station


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

^^

Good update bro.

Madina and KAEC stations 100% completed .


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*KAEC station and the line between Medina and KAEC stations
*



Saleh93 said:


> صور لتركيب القضبان الحديدية في محطة مدينة الملك عبدالله الاقتصادية برابغ لمشروع قطار الحرمين
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

The track alignment looks great! I would love to take this desert high speed train ride.


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## abu busyra (Apr 20, 2015)

Thanks for sharing the photo LOVE. Cant wait to travel with it once completed :thumbup:


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

tiagra said:


> Isn't freedom to let other people live how they wanted to?!
> or that excluded to middle eastern!
> we live based on our religion and culture and guess what we are totally happy.
> and I don't wanna hear that from people that do (swapping couples or wives for sex, have sex with animals, group sex, drugs, etc.) hno:
> ...


Please don't invoke the word "freedom" when you are in fact defending a regime and society that spits on the very concept of individual freedom.

Without individual freedom any talk of "freedom" is a charade and a bunch of crap. And you also don't speak for all Saudis who would in fact like a bit more liberty and choice in their lives. Be it moderate Muslims, atheist, gays, political dissidents, Shia etc. You don't speak for them when you say that all are happy.


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## tonii (Aug 18, 2006)

tiagra said:


> Isn't freedom to let other people live how they wanted to?!
> or that excluded to middle eastern!
> we live based on our religion and culture and guess what we are totally happy.
> and I don't wanna hear that from people that do (swapping couples or wives for sex, have sex with animals, group sex, drugs, etc.) hno:
> ...


You dont need religion to stop yourself from doing those bad things. Anyone who need religion for that has serious problem.


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## kunming tiger (Jun 30, 2011)

not sure how this relates to HSR development


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

HSR entrance in Jeddah Central Station, which requires rebuilding the intersection of King Abdullah Road completely.


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## solomun (Aug 29, 2014)

What firm is delivering the high-speed trains in S.Arabia ?


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## V150 (May 18, 2015)

solomun said:


> What firm is delivering the high-speed trains in S.Arabia ?


Talgo provides High speed train(up to 350km/h) while CAF provides quasi-high speed Diesel intercity trainsets(up to 200km/h).


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Jeddah KAIA Airport's Station

By The End Of May


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Jeddah KAIA Airport's Station


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Rail Journal:



> http://www.railjournal.com/index.ph...on-schedule-for-2017-opening.html?channel=539
> 
> *Saudi HS line "on schedule" for 2017 opening*
> Tuesday, July 07, 2015
> ...


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## aquaticko (Mar 15, 2011)

V150 said:


> Talgo provides High speed train(up to 350km/h) while CAF provides quasi-high speed Diesel intercity trainsets(up to 200km/h).


Shame that they're not going full-electric when they're basically building this network from scratch. What's the justification for the diesel units?


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Gusiluz said:


> 001.000 Station Mecca
> 005.400 Light Workshop (first level)
> 006.200 PAET 1
> 034.800 PAET 2
> ...



078.500 Jeddah Central Station


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## V150 (May 18, 2015)

aquaticko said:


> Shame that they're not going full-electric when they're basically building this network from scratch. What's the justification for the diesel units?


I presume that going diesel would cost less for them. For countries like France, Germany, Japan, Korea and China, which have to import all of their energy source, savings made by going electric(by using cheaper power source like coal, nuclear power and natural gas) justifies heavy investment on electrification, while in SA where petroleum is abundant electrification saves nothing but maintenance cost of trains themselves(which is not enough to justify heavy investment)


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

aquaticko said:


> Shame that they're not going full-electric when they're basically building this network from scratch. What's the justification for the diesel units?


The *Talgo *350 SRO VIP dual (hybrid) is an institutional train that can travel all lines of Arabia.

*CAF *diesel for SAR is for North-South Line, Al Hadithah (border with Jordan)-Riad, non-electrified line.
There are 5 push-pull trains diesel, for night service with seats, berths and car holder 21.21 M €



Riyadh Crusher said:


>


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

:siren: *Bad news!*

SRO has canceled the additional order of 6 Talgo diesel trains for Riyadh-Dammam line. 201 M $ (186 M €).
(In spanish)

:siren: *Good news!*

The Talgo 350 SRO began to roll in test yesterday between KAEC and Medina.
(In spanish)
The trial period may last around three months.


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## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

V150 said:


> I presume that going diesel would cost less for them. For countries like France, Germany, Japan, Korea and China, which have to import all of their energy source, savings made by going electric(by using cheaper power source like coal, nuclear power and natural gas) justifies heavy investment on electrification, while in SA where petroleum is abundant electrification saves nothing but maintenance cost of trains themselves(which is not enough to justify heavy investment)


Well, I'm not an engineer, but I'd assume there's an additional reason which also explains the "lack" of electrification in, say, Russia and Canada: there's a huge loss of energy if you need to draw electric lines and catenaries through the middle of nowhere. In countries like Japan and Germany this is different, of course, because they have high - voltage wires and transformator stations across the nation. - But in Saudi Arabia?


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## ELZIPO32 (Mar 20, 2009)

:banana: :banana: :banana: 

http://www.expansion.com/empresas/transporte/2015/07/17/55a8b99746163f6c048b4573.html?cid=SIN8901

First video of one of the test on the high speed tracks.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)




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## hmmwv (Jul 19, 2006)

That CAF diesel is one of the best looking DMUs out there.


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## Sopomon (Oct 2, 2010)

I don't believe it's a DMU


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ It is a push-pull train, at least the daytime version (4 trains). The night version (2 trains) has up to 4 car holder, so perhaps no more than a normal locomotive.


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## mwinyi (Oct 13, 2007)

Can anyone explain to me how natural gas can be used to electrify trains and if that's the case how come countries such as Qatar or UAE haven't done so?


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Jeddah KAIA Airport's Station

by November


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## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

Gusiluz said:


> The situation in late November was this:
> 
> *Area / kilometer point / Location / Delivery Phase 1 / Delivery Phase 2*
> Area 1 / 013-075 / Mecca-Jeddah / scheduled for December 2015 / if it is true it will be delivered in August 2016
> ...


Gusiluz, are these the dates for the termination of the tracks or the dates when the respective "Areas" will be fully operational (including tracks/power/signaling)?


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

osamah said:


> --------------------------------------------------
> 
> 092.800 By-pass for Jeddah KAIA Airport



The bridge is completed , and the traffic movement has been released few days ago.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

osamah said:


> Under constructed bridge toward Jeddah station which appear at the top left of the picture


 The traffic movement has been released under the bridge yesterday


















​


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

the progress achieved in the Haramain High Speed Rail Track between

Jeddah Central Station and Jeddah KAIA Airport's Station.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

^^


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

osamah said:


> Under constructed bridge toward Jeddah station which appear at the top left of the picture
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

*Jeddah KAIA Airport's Station*


by December


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Haramain High Speed Rail Track between Makkah & Jeddah 










































by : علي العيسى & SkyscraperCity KSA​


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

hans280 said:


> Gusiluz, are these the dates for the termination of the tracks or the dates when the respective "Areas" will be fully operational (including tracks/power/signaling)?


A fully operational, is the date of delivery of Phase 2. In July 2015 ended the area 4 and the 14th of the same month testing began with the first train in this area: north of Rabigh-KAEC.

..........................................
Please, could someone translate this ?, I do not get any pictures in Arabic translator.
Thanks in advance.


nooreng said:


>


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Talgo 350 SRO in Las Matas (Madrid)


and detail of spaces for the disabled in wheelchairs:

Images of the January issue of Via Libre


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Gusiluz said:


> Please, could someone translate this ?, I do not get any pictures in Arabic translator.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ Thank you very much for the help

Third prize in the photography competition Talgo:


Ismael Vigón Sánchez


----------



## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

^^

looks great


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Start Installing the Electrical Columns along the Track in Jeddah












by : 3adad​


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

This is how it looks finally (the one on the right):


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Madina Station













by : mohamed kamal


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Jeddah Station


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## Spam King (May 14, 2008)

Very impressive.

Shame about the location,though.


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*At KAEC Station .*



>


----------



## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

HiJazzey said:


> It's not that far in fact. It's 8km east of the Mosque/central district on a main artery.


But that is exactly what I mean. 8 km far way too far. It should be 800 metres rather.


----------



## HiJazzey (Jun 26, 2003)

flierfy said:


> But that is exactly what I mean. 8 km far way too far. It should be 800 metres rather.


By Saudi standards it's not bad at all. Compare it with the stations for the North-South Railway. On average they are 25km away from the center (The station for jouf is completely in the middle of nowhere, 60km from central Skaka!)

But I agree with your sentiment, it would've been great if you could just walk from the station to the mosque and historic centre, but it's not practical to cut a way through the city. 

The idea for the station location made some sense at the time. It was thought that the area around KEC, a triangle between the airport, holy mosque, and HSR station would form a second central district. That hasn't happened. Growth in the city has been in the opposite direction. In fact, had they built the station next to the Dar al-Hijra megaproject in the southwest it would've been better. Much closer too. But that project didn't exist at the time of selection.


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain HSR*

Acts:
-SRO Has granted an extension of 14 months because delays Phase 1.1
-SRO Is committed to update payments to the Spanish-Saudi consortium. Still they remain to specify the additional costs resulting from the acceleration of Phase 2; especially a provisional workshop to begin testing.
-The minister of transport Saudi, Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al Muqbel, has been dismissed in a reshuffle of government.

The first news is the logical consequence of that has not yet delivered the platform (Phase 1.1), originally scheduled for April 5, 2012 and extended until 31/12/2015. This places the entry into service of the section Makkah-KAEC in February 2018 while, I imagine, it will try to commission the stretch KAEC-Madinah in December 2016, the original delivery date for the entire line.

The second and third news can not but rejoice, which the minister would support the French consortium initially opting to Phase 2 does not justify their continued threats and lies about the progress of the work. It's what I think.


More information and resources on Wikipedia (in spanish).


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

"092.800 By-pass for Jeddah KAIA Airport" is almost completed 
































​


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Second phase making good progress in jeddah 
































by : alhamidi321​


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

osamah said:


> ​


Aerial view for the bridge in jeddah


----------



## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*last update*



Saudi guy said:


> *تغطية فارس التركي خلال زيارتة لمشروع قطار الحرمين*


----------



## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

*update - 2*



Roukaya19 said:


> *No luggage cabins in Haramain train*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

This is a nice project, coming nicely together. Congrats Saudi Arabia!  

I have a question: a display showed on one of the photos refers to the trains between Meccah and Medina as AVE (in European spelling). Now, AVE is the Spanish acronym meaning high-speed train, and the rolling stock for this new line is of course produced by a Spanish company. Have they decided to retain the acronym? It seems a bit bizarre to me, because (in addition to being an acronym) AVE means "bird" in Spanish. I'm not aware that it means anything in Arabic, but I could of course be mistaken.


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

^^













i think you mean this pic right?


i think it's just a model and that guy (who take the pic) he just take it as real.


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## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

^^No, I meant this display. 
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1280x1024q90/921/b9oiRm.png.


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

^^

This one as well "renfe and AVE"

i'm not sure why they using this name , i'm not sure but maybe cuz renfe and AVE is the operator for this trip! ?


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Installing the Electrical Columns along the Track southern Jeddah station































by : Armon9​


----------



## annascott (Apr 14, 2016)

Good work done for thousands of visitors each and every year, Hope that project wiil be huge success and will accomplish its target.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

압둘라-爱- LOVE;134472746 said:


> ^^
> 
> This one as well "renfe and AVE"
> 
> i'm not sure why they using this name , i'm not sure but maybe cuz renfe and AVE is the operator for this trip! ?


The information panel is completely wrong, this has done someone from Spain without having been in KSA.

Not only is the AVE trademark, exclusively for Spain (the trademark will be: Haramain), is the order of the stations. The correct order is Makkah-Jeddah-KAIA-KAEC-Madinah :bash:


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Installing the Electrical Columns along the Track northern Jeddah station



















































by:Armon9​


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain HSR Update schedules*

*Phase 1.1 (platform)*: start of construction in late 2009, with completion scheduled for April 5, 2012. Following the project added some bridges and other structures (especially in area 1) for a total of 853 M € (an increase of 55% over the initial award), so the end was extended until 31 December 2014.
Maximum scheduled dates (after extra time) for delivery of the platform by the consortium Al Rajhi Alliance (area 4 was already delivered in April 2013): area 5 in the first quarter of 2014 (it was delivered in May) area 6 in the second quarter (delivered in November), area 3 in the third quarter (delivered in December), and areas 1 and 2 at the end of 2014.

On August 21, 2015 the general director of the project, Ahmed Bin Bassam Ghulman announced that the work of Phase 1.1 section of Makkah-Jeddah (areas 1 and 2) would end on December 30, 2015.
Area 2 first tranche delivered in March 2016 (fully in May) and only 22 kilometers left to deliver area 1 that were expected for June, but it has not been fulfilled.
Part of the explanation is that the work on the Makkah station was stalled for seven months after licenses were withdrawn from the Binladen Group (construction of stations: Phase 1.2) after the crane collapse at the Grand Mosque 11 September 2015.

In the estimates of November 2015, with delivery of the platform scheduled for December, Spanish firms OHL and Copasa trusted have completed the superstructure in August; in early 2016 with delivery of the platform scheduled for June, it was estimated to be completed from October 2016. Now in the first quarter of 2017.


*Completions*:
Area / Km / Phase 1.1 Al Rajhi Alliance (China-KSA) / Phase 2 Al Shoula Group (Spain-KSA)
1 / 001-075 / Makkah-Jeddah / scheduled for June 2016 (delivered the first tranche in October 2015, in March 2016 missing 22 km) / scheduled for October 2016 (now scheduled for the first quarter of 2017)
2 / 075-109 / Jeddah + branch to KAIA airport / scheduled for March 2016 (delivered between January and May 2016) / scheduled for August 2016 (now it scheduled for late 2016)
3 / 109-180 / Jeddah-KAEC / between October 2014 and April 2015 / March 2016
4 / 180-291 / KAEC-Madinah / April 2013 / July 2015 (tests from 14.07.2015)
5 / 291-375 / KAEC-Madinah / May 2014 / March 2015 (tests from 14.07.2015)
6 / 375-449 / KAEC-Madinah / October 2014 / August 2015 (tests from 05.10.2015)


*Initial forecast*: Phase 1.1 (platform) on April 5, 2012, Phase 2 CAPEX (superstructure) in September 2016 and Phase 2 OPEX (commercial service) in December 2016.
*Last forecast*: Phase 1.1 in June 2016 (not been fulfilled) and Phase 2 (CAPEX and OPEX) in the first quarter of 2018 (?).
It is possible that the section between Rabigh-KAEC and Madinah launch commercial services before, as the emir of the region of Makkah (Prince Khaled Al Faisal), the former transport minister (Abdullah Al Moqbel) and the president of SRO ( Rumaih Al Rumia), announced on December 20, 2015 that the commercial operation in the section between KAEC and Madinah will begin in December 2016 and the line will be in full operation by the end of 2017.

In june 2016 they are 9 *Talgo 350 SRO trains* delivered (total: 35 + 1) and tenth has been sent to KSA. Delivery to train corporate VIP dual (hybrid) was scheduled in the middle of this year.

All *stations* (Phase 1.2) are completed except Jeddah (97%), KAIA and Makkah. The delivery was scheduled for 2015.


All information and sources on Wikipedia (in Spanish).


----------



## hans280 (Jun 13, 2008)

Wow!!!! It looks totally cool! I'd love to try out this new line. Will European Christians be allowed to take the train in Jeddah or Médina?


----------



## Spam King (May 14, 2008)

hans280 said:


> Wow!!!! It looks totally cool! I'd love to try out this new line. Will European Christians be allowed to take the train in Jeddah or Médina?


Maybe, but a Christian probably shouldn't be travelling to a country where they could be executed if they publicly profess their faith. And Christians are banned from Medina.


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ The situation of the stations in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah was planned outside the forbidden zone for non-Muslims. 
As has been told, there were changes in area 1 and Makkah Station is closer to the Grand Mosque, inside the forbidden zone (Makkah Haram Area), so that an authorization of the religious authorities was necessary for non-Muslims workers could build and work (maintenance, driving ...) inside.


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Talgo 350 SRO VIP dual (hybrid)*

El rey de Arabia Saudí encarga un AVE de lujo. El Economista del 15/09/2016 

The media just learned, but from 2013 we known there was, in addition to the 35 trains Talgo 350 SRO, she commissioned another train pretty special.
It is known as VIP dual (hybrid) train and, always he spoke it was for the Saudi Royal family. Ever also it has been known as a corporate train. Now we know what it costs.
According to a note from Talgo (not shown on internet), the price of this train will be 35.8 M €.
Under the contract, whose sources are in the Wikipedia, the others train costs 29,33 M €. The amounts shown in the media are wrong.
Report said the train -with style interior yacht- has a private car to the Monarch, another for meeting room, for luxury dining, and two cars for the staff.

Desert pack
One of the solutions is all that trains with a kind of small air blowers or fans, which lifts the sand on the rail surface. The wheels have a larger diameter so that each point spend less time on the lane. Meanwhile, ADIF is checking the tightness of the cabins and propulsion equipment on a wind tunnel; There are also crystals with special gaskets, with special adhesive films, and paintings, and improved coatings.
Being hybrid can run on other lines when the Haramain HSR link in Jeddah with the new line Saudi Landbridge, which will cross KSA from coast to coast.



More information on Wikipedia (in Spanish).
Talgo 350 SRO
Haramain HSR


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain HSR mediator*

Today news

The first is that the advertised (for the spanish minister) 14 months agreement to extend the deadline was not such, included other conditions (200 M € compensation from SRO Al Shoula) that were not accepted by the Spanish consortium.
Thus, it appears that the Consortium Al Shoula and SRO are finalizing a mediator for a longer period in delivery and income higher compensation for various overruns (the third workshop and more km slab track, etc.), apart from derivatives for non-receipt time infrastructure.
It seems that the mediator will be the expert independent Scottish economist Paul Taggart, the same as in Panama.

The extension of the deadline to be asked is 24 months, ie 31.12.2018.

The sections that Al Rajhi Alliance has not yet delivered are also detailed: between km 0 (Mecca) and 8, and 65.3 and 79 km (22 km of area 1), and 1.8 km of the branch the KAIA airport (area 2, it seems that only now have learned of the existence of the branch).


----------



## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Railway Gazette:



> http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...ew/haramain-high-speed-rail-deal-reached.html
> 
> *Haramain High Speed Rail deal reached*
> 23 Nov 2016
> ...


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

installing the poles that carrying the electrical lines along the track in Jeddah (area 2 )






















Taking into consideration that it's already has been installed in areas 3,4,5 & 6


----------



## japuchi2 (Jun 21, 2008)

Gusiluz said:


> *Phase 1.1 (platform)*: start of construction in late 2009, with completion scheduled for April 5, 2012. Following the project added some bridges and other structures (especially in area 1) for a total of 853 M € (an increase of 55% over the initial award), so the end was extended until 31 December 2014.
> Maximum scheduled dates (after extra time) for delivery of the platform by the consortium Al Rajhi Alliance (area 4 was already delivered in April 2013): area 5 in the first quarter of 2014 (it was delivered in May) area 6 in the second quarter (delivered in November), area 3 in the third quarter (delivered in December), and areas 1 and 2 at the end of 2014.
> 
> On August 21, 2015 the general director of the project, Ahmed Bin Bassam Ghulman announced that the work of Phase 1.1 section of Makkah-Jeddah (areas 1 and 2) would end on December 30, 2015.
> ...


There are 8 delivered, 2 waiting for SRO permission to send them to KSA and one more on-route. VIP train won't be ready until end of 2017.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ Thank you
I believe you more than the president of Talgo :bash:


> We are manufacturing number 23


How many cars are in Rivabellosa for the VIP train?
That is, how many cars do they have without counting the technical extremes-cars?


----------



## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Railway Gazette

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/haramain-high-speed-rail-deal-ratified.html

*Haramain High Speed Rail deal ratified*
17 Jan 2017










SAUDI ARABIA: On January 16 Spanish Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna welcomed the ratification of the November 2016 agreement between the Saudi Arabian authorities and the Al Shoula consortium, which sets a revised timescale for the completion of the Haramain High Speed Rail Line between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah.

De la Serna had been part of the delegation accompanying King Felipe IV on his state visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the minister met with Saudi Railways Organization President Dr Rumaih Mohammed Al-Rumaih. According to the Spanish Ministry of Development, Al-Rumaih particularly welcomed the appointment of Jorge Segrelles as the new President of the Al Shoula consortium on a full-time basis

...


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

The main thing of the news, that has been known since November, has only been made official, from my point of view, is this:



> partial operations on the 451 km high speed line were expected to begin in December 2017 for full opening in March 2018.


It would be from Madinah to KAEC or maybe even Jeddah. 

Anyway, these dates are useless if the consortium of Phase 1.1 does not deliver the platform. Have not yet delivered the platform in 22 kilometers of area 1 (between km 0 in Makkah and 8, and between km 65.3 and 79, in Jeddah station), and 1.8 Km (all of it) from the branch to the KAIA airport in area 2.


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## japuchi2 (Jun 21, 2008)

Gusiluz said:


> ^^ Thank you
> I believe you more than the president of Talgo :bash:
> 
> 
> ...


In fact, there are 29 trains manufactured, but not finished nor sent to Arabia.

VIP train has 10 coaches, 8 without end coaches.


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## pyramidxx (Jul 17, 2010)

How trains are there for women or men??For non-muslims and muslims??


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

There will be cars for women, I imagine one of each class: first class and hospitality (Or maybe not) 

I have not seen anything about cars for non-Muslims. The Makkah station is in the forbidden zone. Madinnah's is not


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

The Location of SRO Tunnel Project 











Towards

























































some information from an interview with the tunnel project manager 





























*Source: Almabani Construction Company *





Some Photos by @3adad































​


----------



## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

Small Accident [Damamm - Riyadh] line 



hamadx said:


> Today's rain.. Dammam train
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## phoenixboi08 (Dec 6, 2009)

huh....I can only guess the water ran down into the trench from the road, above?


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## excel919 (Feb 20, 2017)

Great updates.


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## tenderforever (Aug 18, 2011)

amazes me that a country like saudi can build an HSR system, along with an entire metro system in riyadh, and a country like canada or a state like california can't even get HSR between two cities. the saudis are global renegades, but they have their infrastructure priorities bang on.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

osamah said:


> .
> .
> .
> 
> ​


 Last Update in Video
​


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Tomorrow day 13 starts the tests between 230 and 300 km/h on the Madinah-KAEC stretch (267 km). To approve 300 km/h they must be circulated to 330. The expected duration is 3 months. The section is completely finished and signaling. There are 10 Talgo 350 SRO trains available for testing, which began near Madinah on july 14, 2015.

In the coming weeks, the Madinah and KAEC stations will be officially received, which are lacking in finalizing the lining of the buildings: the VIP lounges, bathrooms and installing some of the furniture, this part will be commissioned to the Spanish consortium following the agreement last November.


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Saudi guy said:


> *March 18​*
> airport railtrack
> Large
> 
> ...


...


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

osamah said:


> ​




*SRO Tunnel Project Update/April 2017*​


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ Thanks for the updates. 

The Spanish media say:


> Area 1 is delayed by a segment of two to three kilometers of the structure, which was executed by a consortium of Chinese and Arab builders, which has not been received because it is in poor condition.
> The solution, agreed in recent days with the SRO client, has been to provide a parallel or hook-up route to complete the works.


Where can it be, near the KAIA airport (Area 2) or near Makkah?
Thanks


----------



## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

Gusiluz said:


> Where can it be, near the KAIA airport (Area 2) or near Makkah?
> Thanks


----------



## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Installation of noise barriers on part of the track northern of jeddah station 












some samples as they were examined last year on the track to pick the appropriate one


----------



## mwinyi (Oct 13, 2007)

I wanna go to Umrah for 10 days.
I'm told it's best if I stay inJwddah and commute TO makkah via train as living costs in Makkah during thelast 10 days of Ramadan are just outrageous 

Please advise


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## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

Click the link for a recent *map of railway lines in Saudi Arabia*.



gree line: Line in operation
red line: Line section U/C


Hope this may help understanding the ambitious Saudi Arabian railway infrastructure construction program. Also check out the line cutting through high dunes in the central desert (activate "aerial view")...


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain*

Pending approval sketches for the interior of the Talgo dual hybrid VIP train.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain*

Talgo train reaches 310km/h on Saudi HS line IRJ. 


> TESTING of Saudi Arabia’s 453km Haramain high-speed line reached a milestone on June 15 when a Talgo 350 train reached 310km/h on the section between King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and Medina, exceeding the maximum commercial operating speed of 300km/h for the first time.
> 
> In the coming weeks speeds will be incrementally increased to 330km/h (maximum speed +10%) as the train fleet moves towards final approval for passenger operation.
> 
> ...


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

El Talgo Haramain alcanza en pruebas los 330 km/h



> The Talgo Haramain reaches in tests the 330 km/h.
> 
> The Operation Backup Control Center is already running, which controls the traffic of the line
> 
> The stretch in which the tests are being conducted is located between the cities of Medina and KAEC. At the end of July, the train will reach the city of Jedahh on the shores of the Red Sea covering 370 kilometers of line, 80 percent of the 449 between Mecca and Medina. Both cities will be united in less than two and a half hours with intermediate stops at Jedaah, King Abdullah Airport and KAEC.


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain*

Photograph of the transfer of a composition Talgo 350 SRO from Rivabellosa (Álava) to Las Matas (Madrid) where the locomotives will engage and test the train. 
Once checked, each car is separated and moved to Barcelona by truck to embark for Jeddah.


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain anti-dust protection*

According to the spanish engineering consultant INECO, this is what will be put as protection against powdered sand in the most problematic sections of the Haramain HSR:

First there is a retaining wall, then a zone of stabilized material with a bituminous mixture, a zone of controlled uptake of sand and finally ballastless track covered with a waterproof bituminous layer.




The same in another version:


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ A photograph of how it really looks.



HiJazzey said:


> There's a strange obsession with that short section of slab track around wadi kulayya.
> Here's a photo: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/107606552
> 
> 
> ...


Many thanks to *HiJazzey*!


----------



## Garvm (Apr 22, 2007)

Gusiluz said:


> The information panel is completely wrong, this has done someone from Spain without having been in KSA.
> 
> Not only is the AVE trademark, exclusively for Spain (the trademark will be: Haramain), is the order of the stations. The correct order is Makkah-Jeddah-KAIA-KAEC-Madinah :bash:


Last City should be Makkah
So the screen will show the correct information if you are in Madinah Station. Train to Makkah with stops at kaec, Kaia, Jeddah and Makkah


----------



## Garvm (Apr 22, 2007)

Gusiluz said:


> ^^ The situation of the stations in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah was planned outside the forbidden zone for non-Muslims.
> As has been told, there were changes in area 1 and Makkah Station is closer to the Grand Mosque, inside the forbidden zone (Makkah Haram Area), so that an authorization of the religious authorities was necessary for non-Muslims workers could build and work (maintenance, driving ...) inside.


They are not issuing that authorization


----------



## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

The problem with sand(-storms) is surely an engineering and operational challenge. However, I think that only 5% or so of the entire line are affected, concentrated on 3 or 4 sections. So it should be possible to closely monitor those crucial parts.

One of such sand threatened sections:
http://www.retrofutur.org/retrofutu....156915986771946,39.15966423159034)&mt=hybrid


However I still wonder how a precise track alignment can be guaranteed despite the significant temperature differences between day and night.

In Italy in order to attenuate extreme heating up of rails under the sun those get sprayed with white color...

In contrast the 2015 opened North-South railway runs through the immense desert of central Saudi Arabia. The line is supposed to be run at 200km/h (though I doubt this) by CAF built diesel trainsets.
In the linked aerial imagery below one can distinguish two rails: In the upper part of the image (dated 2015) one can see the dark and still clear ballast of the trackbed as it should be, in the lower part one can see the trackbed already submerged by sand:
http://www.retrofutur.org/retrofutu....13731746767579,40.906509178928445)&mt=hybrid
(Zoom out to get an idea about the size of this desert...)


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Garvm said:


> They are not issuing that authorization


It was not an opinion, it is official information of Adif and Renfe.

Another one, and from last week:


> Visto en Interesa, la intranet de Renfe:
> 
> Se abre un proceso de búsqueda de candidatos internos para el Proyecto Haramain, en Jedda (Arabia Saudí), con los siguientes perfiles:
> •	Seguridad y Autoprotección
> ...





> Seen in Interesa, the Renfe intranet:
> 
> A search process for internal candidates for the Haramain Project opens in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), with the following profiles:
> • Security and Self-Protection
> ...





Garvm said:


> Last City should be Makkah
> So the screen will show the correct information if you are in Madinah Station. Train to Makkah with stops at kaec, Kaia, Jeddah and Makkah


You have to put the image to make it look:









He says that after Jeddah (21:30) there is Madinah (22:15), so it is wrong.
He has to put Makkah 22:15


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

krisu99 said:


> The problem with sand(-storms) is surely an engineering and operational challenge. However, I think that only 5% or so of the entire line are affected, concentrated on 3 or 4 sections. So it should be possible to closely monitor those crucial parts.
> 
> One of such sand threatened sections:
> http://www.retrofutur.org/retrofutu....156915986771946,39.15966423159034)&mt=hybrid
> ...


Yes, I know him.

These are the problematic sections:


According to Adif will be dilating devices. This is Type A for Spain, I do not know if it will be a special one.


Basically, with the heat the rail slides on the outside for continuity to alignment.
I do not know how to explain it better in English. Sorry!


----------



## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

^^ Interesting. Are those dilation devices used in plain sections of high speed lines in Spain? Usually those are placed next to the abutments of bridges ("para puentes"), but if I get you right you mean those are also inserted in plain line? There must be many of them if so...


----------



## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

krisu99 said:


> ^^ Interesting. Are those dilation devices used in plain sections of high speed lines in Spain? Usually those are placed next to the abutments of bridges ("para puentes"), but if I get you right you mean those are also inserted in plain line? There must be many of them if so...


No, only on bridges. In the lines on ballast are used the dilation joints, much simpler.

They will be used in Arabia (Adif said they would be used, but I have not seen photos) because of the great difference in temperature.
In Spain it is very hot (Seville, Cordoba, Malaga) but there is not so much difference between day and night.

I have to go. If you have any more questions I will look again this afternoon.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

​


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

​


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## Haifon (May 7, 2017)




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## fusfus (Apr 17, 2015)

As of 23 Nov. (6 days) services will begin from Riyadh to Ha'il starting at 120 Riyals (32.00 USD)


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain: service demostration*

El AVE a La Meca recorrerá por primera vez toda la línea el 31 de diciembre. El Economista from today. 
*The AVE to Mecca will travel the entire line for the first time on December 31. *


> The AVE between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina (Saudi Arabia) will travel for the first time and without stops for the 450 kilometers that cross the line next December 31, day in which the first *service demonstration* will take place and systems.
> ...
> The Spanish consortium Al Shoula responsible for the construction of this unique AVE had been committed to the Saudi government to carry out such demonstration before the end of the year and will do so despite the delays noted in the termination of some stations commissioned to companies local, the consortium has informed today.
> ...
> During the next ten or twelve weeks, the consortium will carry out, on a regular basis, two trips per direction on Fridays and Saturdays between the cities of Mecca and Medina.


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

https://www.elconfidencial.com/empr...a-in-extremis-el-honor-del-consorcio_1499010/


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain: first service demostration full trip*

El ‘AVE del Desierto’ del consorcio español conecta Medina y La Meca en dos horas y 52 minutos. El País from today. 


> *The 'AVE del Desierto' of the Spanish consortium connects Medina and Mecca in two hours and 52 minutes*
> 
> The Al Shoula Spanish consortium connects Medina and Mecca in two hours and 52 minutes The high-speed rail of Saudi Arabia, in which construction participate 12 Spanish companies, has made his first full trip tested, this December 31 had to make for the first time the tour full 450 kilometers with guests on board. The trip was completed in two hours and 52 minutes, in some sections, the train exceeded 300 kmh. When make the launch commercial final, the goal is that the drive is made in 2 hours and 30 minutes. the journey took place without that registrasen issues.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain*

No ticket prices set yet for high-speed Haramain train. Arab News, yesterday. 


> The Haramain train will start its operations with two pilot trips next week between Makkah and Madinah with a full load of passengers. However, commercial operations are expected to start by mid-2018, after the completion of the Jeddah and King Abdul Aziz airport stations.
> ...
> Umrah visitors, who are expected to reach about 15 million by 2020, are impatiently waiting for the full operation of the Haramain train, which will cross the distance between the two holy cities in two hours instead of six hours by bus.




After this scheme the Mecca station was built approximately one kilometer further, more inside the holy city.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Haramain High Speed Rail market study commissioned. Railway Gazette



> On April 17 Saudi Railway Co CEO Dr Bashar Al Malek told the SmartRail conference in Amsterdam that Haramain High Speed Rail *services would ‘commence within the next few weeks*.’
> ...
> Haramain High Speed Rail project concessionaire Al-Shoula Consortium has appointed Royal HaskoningDHV to carry out a detailed market study for the line. This is intended to help Saudi Railways Organization predict passenger numbers and needs, and support the development of targeted operations strategies to offer the most suitable and efficient services.


The trains are performing service demonstrations with passengers since last December. The Yeddah station was 90% finished in March and it is only needed to finish the airport (KAIA) station and the Rusaifah station, 4 km from the Grand Mosque of Makkah.


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## Stuu (Feb 7, 2007)

Gusiluz said:


> Haramain High Speed Rail market study commissioned. Railway Gazette.


I read that this morning, seems a bit late to do a market study!


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain schedule*

In addition to the service demostration with regular passengers from 12/31/2017 (the entire main line: Mecca to Medina), the commercial service will be in September on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; I still do not know how many daily trips and they do not mention the branch to the KAIA airport because it will not be finished until April 2019; the travel time will be progressively reduced.
Starting in January, services will be daily.
In September 2019 the whole line will work with all its benefits (300 km/h).

It will start in September at 200 km/h because the ERTMS is not yet validated because it has only been able to circulate along the entire main line since 11/20/2017 since the platform near Mecca was delivered by the Al Rajhi Alliance consortium during the summer of 2017.

A total of 212 services have been carried out, including pre-test exploration trains, with a total traveled distance of 60,405 kilometers and punctuality in operations scheduled for guests, close to 100%. Until last March 15 there were 4,500 passengers invited by the Saudi authorities.
The first test trip where the 300 km/h was reached was between KAEC and Jeddah the 07/18/2017.


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## timo9 (Oct 24, 2008)

Al Madinah > King Abdullah Eco City (KAEC) / Saudi HSR / Talgo 350


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ Thanks for the videos, but the first has nothing to do with KAEC, which is in the Haramain HSR, where the movie _A Hologram for the King_ was filmed, near the city of Rabigh.

The video is about the North-South Line that, although mainly for freight traffic, since last year operate 6 passengers trains of the Spanish construction company CAF (200 km/h the diurnal and 160 the 2 nocturnal trains), between Riad-Al-Qassim, Hail and even Al Hadithah (border with Jordan).
This line is operated by the public company SAR, while the Haramain HSR is operated by the also public SRO.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Haramain launch*

As announced at the beginning of the year, the so-called Ave de la Meca (Haramain HSR) will begin commercial service in September, more exactly the day of its national holiday: the 23rd.
Since they have not yet been able to make enough km (the infrastructure was delivered last year) they start at 200 with ASFA instead of with ERTMS.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

From an extensive article in the specialized magazine Vía Libre I only find as news the confirmation of the power of Talgo 350 SRO trains (8800 kW, even though the same Bombardier Traxx S250MS locomotives have 8000 in the Spanish series 102 and 112 it may be because these trains have 13 cars instead of 12) and that the KAEC station is at km 190.3, although according to the initial plans it was at 181.8. Maybe it's a typo.
It also has these two beautiful photographs, the second shows the section that runs between the tracks of a highway, between km 94.1 and 107.2 from where the branch to the KAIA airport leaves when passing through Jeddah.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

The Haramain high-speed train will start commercial operations on Sept. 24.




Roukaya19 said:


> *Haramain train to start
> operations after 11 days*
> 
> *on Muharram 14 / Sept. 24*
> ...


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Saudi Arabia inaugurates Haramain high-speed line.



> The 453km line connects the holy cities of Mecca and Medina via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City, with a short branch serving King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, the principal point of entry for Hajj pilgrims.
> 
> Mecca’s high-speed station is located in the district of Rusayfah at the entrance to the holy city and about 4km from the Holy Mosque.
> 
> ...


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## tkautzor (Mar 11, 2010)

During the inaugural run, did King Salman ride in the Royal Train or a regular train? And have any photos of the Royal Train become public yet?


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ So far I have not seen the VIP dual (hybrid) train, nor I have seen news they is already finished. Only I have this:

Pending approval sketches for the interior of the Talgo dual hybrid VIP train.


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## el palmesano (May 27, 2006)




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## krisu99 (May 16, 2008)

That is a particularly challenging project, technically and culturally...

I wonder why ASFA has been installed in addition to ETCS L2, which in my understanding makes it more complicated and expensive? 
The line is an entirely new system built from scratch, so I would tend to believe that ERMTS should be able to handle all aspects of train operation, without any old legacy overlay system?

Also I do not understand why SAR forces separate luggage check-in like in airports. I could imagine this adds adds at least 40-60 minutes (departure and arrival combined). Bring your luggage on board, and the train could run 200 instead of 300km/h, without any loss in point-to-point travel time 

But again, great system, great achievement for all participating engineers etc.

PS: Can I also use the train, even if I am a bad person not believing in the only right religion? Would be really interested having a ride on both new lines...


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^


> That is a particularly challenging project, technically and culturally...


True, they are not used to traveling by rail.



> I wonder why ASFA has been installed in addition to ETCS L2, which in my understanding makes it more complicated and expensive?
> The line is an entirely new system built from scratch, so I would tend to believe that ERMTS should be able to handle all aspects of train operation, without any old legacy overlay system?


In Spain, ASFA is mandatory as a backup system for any other. It is much cheaper (perfectly acceptable in an HSR) and, above all, much simpler than the ERTMS; that is why the trains run with ASFA although they have not had time (ie: km of tests) to travel with ETCS 2. This system needs GSM-R so if the signal is missing they can always continue driving at 200 km/h with ASFA. In other places they do not use a backup system, but in this case it is used from the beginning; Until the last moment we tried to start with ERTMS from Medina to Jeddah.



> PS: Can I also use the train, even if I am a bad person not believing in the only right religion? Would be really interested having a ride on both new lines...


Without being able to say it with total security, I believe that the station of Medinnah is outside the forbidden zone, and I know that the one of the Mecca is inside, so it can travel from Jeddah (and, when they finish it, from its KAIA airport) to Medina .


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## Garvm (Apr 22, 2007)

krisu99 said:


> That is a particularly challenging project, technically and culturally...
> 
> I wonder why ASFA has been installed in addition to ETCS L2, which in my understanding makes it more complicated and expensive?
> The line is an entirely new system built from scratch, so I would tend to believe that ERMTS should be able to handle all aspects of train operation, without any old legacy overlay system?


Thats because of various reasons. ASFA is not a very expensive system, so the train operator wanted to have a backup system for ERTMS, and ASFA is great in doing so. 
Secondarily. ERTMS is a complicated system with lots of parts and subsystems that have to work together. 
Since some organizational problems arise, mostly the delay in the finalization of the infrastructure by the previous consortium, but also because of political problems with land acquisition for the necesary buildings (signalling, energy and GSM-R builings) the ERTMS system is not available yet in South Area.
So ASFA was probably the only option to have trains operating right now in all the line.



> Also I do not understand why SAR forces separate luggage check-in like in airports. I could imagine this adds adds at least 40-60 minutes (departure and arrival combined). Bring your luggage on board, and the train could run 200 instead of 300km/h, without any loss in point-to-point travel time
> 
> But again, great system, great achievement for all participating engineers etc.
> 
> PS: Can I also use the train, even if I am a bad person not believing in the only right religion? Would be really interested having a ride on both new lines...


As gusiluz said, Madinah is out of the Haram area. Funny fact is that it is just in the border so if you want to get there you have to go inside of the haram area, take a u-turn 500 meter inside of the Haram area and then enter the station. But Madinah haram area is more permeable.
Makkah is inside Haram, so no way you can enter. This is no problem if you are a tourist because you can do the Jedda-Madinah travel.
This is only a problem when you are a track, catenary, signalling or communications engineer that needs to access the sites to do your job and you are not allowed to enter.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)




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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Roukaya19 said:


> *5 - KAIA Station*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

sad to see all 10 years works and that money fly in few hours hno:

(Jeddah station)


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## Munwon (Dec 9, 2010)

Geez! Is it totaled?


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## FM 2258 (Jan 24, 2004)

What the hell? Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

Was the station already in operation? Obviously the fire suppression system did not work. I thought there would be sprinklers in the ceilings. Anyway, very sad, I was hoping to check this out.


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## zergcerebrates (Jan 23, 2004)

OMG! What happened? Was it attacked?


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## 압둘라-爱- LOVE (May 17, 2012)

unfortunately guys, To following a video on youtube, it's was a small fire in the first floor.

But the question is: why the fire suppression system did not work?


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## lunarwhite (Jun 18, 2014)

Here is an IRJ report on the situation.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...9126&id=191733460869062&anchor_composer=false


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## Stuu (Feb 7, 2007)

lunarwhite said:


> Here is an IRJ report on the situation.
> 
> https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...9126&id=191733460869062&anchor_composer=false


According to the story it will be out of service for one month - seems a little optimistic!

What was the roof made of?


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## prophecus1 (Jun 27, 2009)

^^

according to the article, the 30 days repair is to make the trains able to pass through the burnt station. Rebuilding will definitely take more than a month.


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## Atmosphere (Mar 15, 2009)

This should really raise some eyebrows over there. How is it possible a small fire burned down the entire station....


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Fire at Jeddah station*

Overview:

The fire began at 12:35 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, on the roof of the Jeddah Station Building.
Early alarms alerted passengers and operators who were evacuated immediately; fire protection systems inside the station and fire doors have isolated other floors and prevented the fire from spreading.
Eleven people were injured in the fire, which took 15 hours to be suffocated by helicopters.
The damage was caused to the second floor and the roof of the station (in some media they count the ground floor, so they talk about the third and fourth floors). While the first floor, the ground floor, the area of platforms and tracks, and the security systems, circulation and power supply were not affected (that's officially said: but keep reading).









































































The Minister of Transport and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Railway Company (SAR), Dr. Nabil Al-Amoudi, announced on 3 October that the Haramain HSR will resume service within 30 days, using the new King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) Station to serve the residents and visitors of Jeddah.

It should be remembered that the main line is in service with travellers since 31/12/2017 although it was officially inaugurated on 24/09/2018 and passengers began paying for travel on 11 October last year. This line departs from Mecca and, passing through Jeddah and Rabigh-KAEC stations, reaches Medina after 449.2 km. There is also a 3,750 km variant to link up with Jeddah Airport (KAIA).
Scheme and profile Haramain:


Here I clumsily drew the bypass to KAIA:


The airport, the main way of entry for pilgrims, in blue the train station:


Both the airport station and the variant itself have suffered numerous delays (this time due to the airport authority itself, its award is completely independent of the main line), and its inauguration was announced for April and, later, for this October. 

Well, so far the official information has appeared in media all over the world.

The authorities have officially announced that the movement of trains has not been affected, so I thought about why we could not continue with the movement of trains between Mecca and Medina being passers-by in Jeddah, instead of waiting for the airport station to be operational (we'll see if it's in November) and divert all trains along the branch.
Well, despite what has been announced, it turns out that they are building a new section of track outside Jeddah station whose objective cannot be any other than to allow trains to pass, as all trains have to pass through Jeddah station.





























In these images we can see that the circulation of trains is incompatible with the reconstruction works.


















When the temporary track is operational I imagine that they will put passing trains between Mecca, KAEC and Medina, without service in Jeddah. And when the airport station is operational it will serve Jeddah users provisionally.

The photographs are from the SSC Arab Forum (Thank you very much!).


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## unwiderstehlich (Sep 2, 2018)

Strange, seems awful


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## foxmulder (Dec 1, 2007)

Holly cow. That is fire, alright.


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## GojiMet86 (Jan 3, 2016)

Gusiluz said:


> Overview:
> 
> The fire began at 12:35 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, on the roof of the Jeddah Station Building.
> Early alarms alerted passengers and operators who were evacuated immediately; fire protection systems inside the station and fire doors have isolated other floors and prevented the fire from spreading.
> ...



Where can I find a High-Resolution version of this track map? Thanks.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ It is a presentation of the Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Madrid (Association of Civil Engineers) of the year 2013.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qnb7dli2zwor9b0/Colegio ICPP de Madrid.pdf?dl=0

Although in the schema the Makkah station is at km 1.3 because of problems with homeowners (couldn't tell who the real owners were), was finally located in the place originally planned: at km 0 quite closer to the great mosque Másyid al-Haram.


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

Jeddah *KAIA* Station 

By: @archayd

​


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## keber (Nov 8, 2006)

Gusiluz said:


> Although in the schema the Makkah station is at km 1.3 because of problems with homeowners (couldn't tell who the real owners were), was finally located in the place originally planned: at km 0 quite closer to the great mosque Másyid al-Haram.


So they will move already built railway stations for 1,3 km toward great mosque?


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## Spam King (May 14, 2008)

keber said:


> So they will move already built railway stations for 1,3 km toward great mosque?


No, the station was built in the originally planned spot. The Plan B was to move it 1.3km further out of the city.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ I don't think so.

This scheme is from 2012 and marks the station at km 1.3 of the line.


And in this article (December 21, 2015) it says that:


> Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region and Adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said on Sunday that the Haramain Railway will address the problem of unplanned neighborhoods in the holy city.
> 
> “The railway project is instrumental in accelerating the governorate’s plan to solve this problem,” he said, pointing out that about 1,000 unplanned residences were demolished to build the Makkah railway station in Rusaifah district.






Roukaya19 said:


> _Makkah Haramain station_
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## geogregor (Dec 11, 2006)

Garvm said:


> As gusiluz said, Madinah is out of the Haram area. Funny fact is that it is just in the border so if you want to get there you have to go inside of the haram area, take a u-turn 500 meter inside of the Haram area and then enter the station. But Madinah haram area is more permeable.
> Makkah is inside Haram, so no way you can enter. This is no problem if you are a tourist because you can do the Jedda-Madinah travel.
> *This is only a problem when you are a track, catenary, signalling or communications engineer that needs to access the sites to do your job and you are not allowed to enter.*


Seriously? Even the engineers have to be from the "right team"?


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## geogregor (Dec 11, 2006)

But I'm asking seriously. If they need some rare specialists, let say to install or check some complicated signaling kit, do they also question contractors about religion of their staff (who might be from abroad)?


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

^^ Religious authorities grant temporary permits for non-Muslim skilled workers for reasons of force majeure; a commitment must be made to follow a number of rules and not to do certain things.

I don't know how the station was built (by the Saudi Bin Ladin Consortium), but a lot of qualified workers had to come in for the railway superstructure; the indispensable, but many.


This reminds me that -when the contract was formalized in 2011- Makkah Station was to be built outside the sacred area of Makkah Haram. 
El consorcio español se adjudica el contrato de alta velocidad en Arabia Saudí. Vía Libre (27/10/2011):


> the stations are located outside the zone forbidden to non-Muslims.


And the modifications in area 1 (Makkah):


Makkah Haram:

The station is in the yellow dot.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

This Wednesday 11th Haramain services will be partially resumed using the new KAIA airport station as a stop for Jeddah passengers.

Haramain High Speed Railway to resume services next Wednesday. Saudi Gazette December 8, 2019


> The management of the Haramain High Speed Railway Project has announced on Sunday the resumption of railway trips on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019 after completing test runs and preparing the railway station at the New King Abdulaziz International Airport, Saudi Press Agency said.
> 
> The Director General of Operations and Maintenance of the Haramain Speed Railway Eng. Rayan Al-Harbi stated that the Railway would resume its trips to serve travelers between the Madinah stations, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Rabigh, and the New King Abdulaziz International Airport station.
> 
> ...


Inside the station, at the end are the platforms:









It is resumed before towards Maddinah that towards Mecca because in this last case it is necessary to circulate next to the central station of Jeddah, whereas in the first one it was only necessary to have finished the station of the airport.


The fire broke out on 29 September and since then a provisional 1.5 km double track section has been installed around Jeddah central station.


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## Garvm (Apr 22, 2007)

Gusiluz said:


> ^^ Religious authorities grant temporary permits for non-Muslim skilled workers for reasons of force majeure; a commitment must be made to follow a number of rules and not to do certain things.
> 
> I don't know how the station was built (by the Saudi Bin Ladin Consortium), but a lot of qualified workers had to come in for the railway superstructure; the indispensable, but many.
> 
> ...


Not only Makkah station is in Haram Area but also Makkah depot is inside of the Haram Area.
They are not delivering permissions to enter the Haram Area to the contractors, so you need to be muslim to access the facilities. That's why I never entered Makkah Station or Makkah depot and I will never visit there again*


* I already left the project so this is why I can speak a little more freely.


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## Garvm (Apr 22, 2007)

geogregor said:


> But I'm asking seriously. If they need some rare specialists, let say to install or check some complicated signaling kit, do they also question contractors about religion of their staff (who might be from abroad)?


In Europe we usually don't understand the difference between the existence of a law and the enforcement of it.
But you know...


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Garvm said:


> Not only Makkah station is in Haram Area but also Makkah depot is inside of the Haram Area.
> They are not delivering permissions to enter the Haram Area to the contractors, so you need to be muslim to access the facilities. That's why I never entered Makkah Station or Makkah depot and I will never visit there again*
> 
> 
> * I already left the project so this is why I can speak a little more freely.


No? Well, I know non-Muslims of Spanish nationality (ADIF, Renfe Operadora and INECO mid-level employees, I don't talk about Copasa because I don't know) who told me they entered Makkah station to build the superstructure. 
How else would they do it? The ERTMS? Really? The Saudis certainly weren't: they started the courses for train drivers in Spain and KSA and didn't show any interest in learning so they are finally Pakistanis.


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## RyukyuRhymer (Sep 23, 2007)

reminder, this is a high speed rail thread, not one on Saudi-Iranian politics.


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Fight against sand*

Copasa, the Spanish company in charge of the maintenance of the Haramain line between Makkah and Madinah, has developed a machine that prevents sand from entering the tracks and hindering the movement of trains. The machine, a remodeled tamping machine, is self-propelled and has two blowing carriages (the suction technique was discarded because it reduced the performance), so that it does not interfere with the visibility of driving from the cabs.



When the sand is deposited in the gap, the tool achieves yields of between 3 and 3.5 kilometres per hour, while if the sand covers the gap between the sleepers under the rail or is compact and wet the yields are reduced to 1.5 kilometres per hour. The volume of sand on the track that is removed when this tool is working (it operates at night) can range from 200 to 250 cubic meters.

This and other measures, such as walls and pits, are intended to slow down the advance of the sand, which causes more damage to the track between the months of March and May. 



> In total, some 360 people work on the maintenance of the HSR; 250 for Copasa (including 75 Spaniards) and some 110 for Imanthia. In addition to Spaniards, workers of various nationalities are currently working on the project, including Pakistanis, Egyptians, Filipinos, Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.


Source

The Al–Shoula Consortium are not worried about the temperatures, but the sand is a problem. According to vice president of Talgo: "The temperature gradient in Saudi Arabia is similar to Spain. The construction technique will be similar to that used in our country. "
What I know pretends to increase AC equipment, an internal pressure to prevent the entry of dust, redundancy of equipment and installation of a back-up to the main power failure. 
The fact is that lose power happens to be a nuisance (anywhere) to be very dangerous in the middle of the desert. Also keep in mind the electric fields created by sandstorms. At about 45 km in area 4 is installed slab track type RHEDA 2000 concrete retaining walls 1.6 meters high and pitfalls (trenches) for sand.
In Arid-Lap program, the test bench of the Cedex Geotechnical Laboratory is responsible for studying the effects of sand on the infrastructure. There they built a "box" to simulate years of operations in just two weeks: in less than twenty minutes over 260 trains is simulated.
The original intention was to bring the sand of the desert of Saudi Arabia (called aeolian sand by the winds of the Red Sea), but there were too many bureaucratic hurdles to get her out of the country. Alternatively, the center has selected several different arenas and has mixed in such a way that eventually obtained a volume curve with a similar product that is in the wilderness, considering mineralogy constituting those grains of sand and size, whose appearance is almost like dust.
7 meters of track were built, with twelve sleepers at scale 1:1. The experiment is based on going a controlled manner contaminating the way to view and analyze for each degree of saturation (from 15% to 100%) the behavior of the infrastructure when the train passes. This train has two bogies on each tractor and everything else are “Talgo trucks” (one at each wheel via independent without being bound by any axis, something unique on any railway in the world).
The effects of that train in other normal circumstances are already on the box to compare with the desert and has been imitated over the same at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour (can be reached to simulate even 400 km/h). With a set of pairs of actuators that are installed on the box itself, it will start to move faster pulse, and accurately reproduce over the stands and bogies for the particular route point.
As a good "CSI" train has analyzed everything imaginable: from how sleepers they behave, how stresses and forces are generated in the same and in the ballast. The goal is to evolve watching all these parameters to define what is the maximum speed that is safe to run the train at each stage of saturation of sand. In the event that contamination reaches 100% of the track, all the infrastructure would be filled with sand to the base of the sleeper. Since the test bench ensures that the train can pass perfectly in this scenario, but look at what speed limit can cover the distance without any danger or discomfort to the passengers.
To do this, first to analyzes the track without sand in order to check the parameters of the same in a normal state, and then they were adding different concentrations of sand.
An example of this deterioration is the sub-ballast. Al Rajhi Alliance Consortium (composed by CRCC China Railway Construction Corporation, Al Arrab Contracting Company Ltd, Al Suwailem Company and France's Alstom Transport) that install the platform has been used granular sub-ballast twenty centimeters thick. The result is that over time and with the passage of trucks, the Spanish consortium is encountering real problems of irregularities in the firm at the time of installing the final ballast.
From now on all sections in Spain where bituminous sub-ballast will be installed with eight centimeters thick.
Ineco, who has closely followed from the beginning the effects of the desert sand in the project (including analyzing the movement of dunes by satellite) is the one who signed the contract with the lab to conduct this study on the desert sand.
The consortium will also analyze the impact of hitting the track to calculate how often they can do without the ballast is too damaged. All these data are key to analyze the profitability of the project, because if the sand causes an excessive wear of the track or even rolling stock maintenance costs could shoot and it would be a blow to the line of flotation Spanish consortium's contract, thanks to a very competitive offer with very little margin to overcome already won the French proposal.
In its final conclusions, the work will establish speed limits in the operation and maintenance periods so that the line is kept in top condition. Similarly, in the track will be included in different sections of the infrastructure, pollution detectors to know what the desert sand saturation in real time in the ballast and act accordingly.
One of the solutions adopted is that trains with a kind of small air blowers or fans, which lifts the sand on the road surface. The wheels have a larger diameter so that each point spend less time on the lane. Meanwhile, ADIF is checking the tightness of the cabins and propulsion equipment on a wind tunnel; There are also crystals with special gaskets, with special adhesive films, and paintings, and improved coatings.


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## Sunfuns (Mar 26, 2012)

Would it not have been chepaer in the long run to build the line entirely on a viaduct like in China?


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## otternase (Sep 12, 2017)

Sunfuns said:


> Would it not have been chepaer in the long run to build the line entirely on a viaduct like in China?


or cutting a trench, putting the railway in and then covering it?


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## dyonisien (Aug 30, 2010)

Sunfuns said:


> Would it not have been chepaer in the long run to build the line entirely on a viaduct like in China?


Exactly.
We have all seen pictures of the tracks covered with sand. From the very beginning of the construction !
From the beginning of the reports I have asked myself if in such a sandy environment the Chinese technique of building a super-elevated viaduct (with holes conveniently placed on the high platform) wouldn't have largely reduced sand problems, compared with ground level tracks. 
Wouldn't the higher price tag have been compensated by a higher reliability and reduced maintenance costs ?


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

Travel from Madinah to Jeddah airport (KAIA) at 300 km/h.


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## pellista (Oct 4, 2015)

Was the Haramain High Speed train necessary in terms of demand or was it built just for the extense budget availability? 

Im asking this regardin the costs ($7.4bn) in relation to the low population density of the country.


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## Castor_Game (Feb 24, 2010)

dyonisien said:


> Exactly.
> We have all seen pictures of the tracks covered with sand. From the very beginning of the construction !
> From the beginning of the reports I have asked myself if in such a sandy environment the Chinese technique of building a super-elevated viaduct (with holes conveniently placed on the high platform) wouldn't have largely reduced sand problems, compared with ground level tracks.
> Wouldn't the higher price tag have been compensated by a higher reliability and reduced maintenance costs ?


High-speed lines in Spain have a multitude of viaducts and in some cases of prodigious engineering, so it would not have been a problem to make viaducts throughout Saudi Arabia.

But it is possible that the Saudi authorities did not want to desecrate the territory with viaducts like those that have been made in China.


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## otternase (Sep 12, 2017)

pellista said:


> Was the Haramain High Speed train necessary in terms of demand or was it built just for the extense budget availability?


when checking the number of flights and busses operated and the density of car traffic along the route Mecca-Jeddah-Medina the traffic demand for a railway is definitely there. If it had to be high high-speed or if quasi-hig-speed, e.g. 200km/h would have been sufficient, is another question. But the impact on the overall cost would probably not have been so relevant?


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## railpnrcheck (Apr 19, 2020)

The 99,000-square-meter station connected to the New King Abdul Aziz Airport can suit around 3,205 travelers for every hour, the official Saudi news organization SPA detailed. 

An excursion on the train covers 450 kilometers among Makkah and Madina and takes two hours. The venture, the realm's hugest open vehicle office, plans to convey 60 million travelers every year and adapt to the developing quantities of Muslim pioneers running to Islam's holiest locales there. for more information visit my website:*http://www.railpnrcheck.online/*


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## Gusiluz (Apr 4, 2013)

*Ballast tamping machine transformed into a sand blowing machine.*



It consists of a self-propelled machine to which blowing carriages have been incorporated to remove the sand deposited between the stones. It does this at night, so as not to interrupt the circulation in the line.
Now Copasa is converting these tampers by replacing the tamping equipment and putting in its place compressors as a source of the compressed air. Two blowing carriages, placed in the train car within sight of the cabin technician, have the ability to eject the sand underneath the rail especially in areas with a lot of accumulated or even already hardened aggregate. The volume of sand on the track that is removed at night can range from 200 to 250 cubic meters.

Source, in Spanish


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## osamah (Oct 28, 2012)

*KAIA Station*


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