Mr Habib Zein Al Abideen deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs has revealed that studies are being conducted to link Jeddah to Makkah by train with stations along the Makkah Jeddah highway.

According to Mr Al Abideen, the train line would run down the central island of the highway and would serve worshippers during peak periods such as Haj and Ramadan.

Mr Al Abideen said that "The station in Jeddah would be located near Prince Fawaz housing complex on the highway and would not require removal of any property. It would be of great benefit to the population of Jeddah and also bring in large revenues."

He said that a royal decree had been issued to link up the Holy Sites Train with Makkah and cited spending by his Ministry over the past 12 years of SAR 26 billion on various giant projects.

(Sourced from the Saudi Gazette)