JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will inaugurate the Haramain high speed rail project on Tuesday ahead of the start of commercial operations next month. The 450 kilometer train line connects the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah with stations at Jeddah, King Abdul Aziz International Airport, and King Abdullah Economic City. Saudi Minister of Transport, Dr. Nabil bin Mohammed Al-Amoudi, expressed his gratitude to the King for his patronage of the ceremony as well as his support for national projects. Al-Amoudi said King Salman gives great importance to the transportation projects in Saudi Arabia as they represent the Kingdom’s efforts in serving citizens and visitors, specifically pilgrims. He also said the King and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman are always committed to provide the highest quality services to pilgrims, to fulfill Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to increase the number of pilgrims. This giant project has been implemented in three stages by a number of national and international companies. The project can carry 60 million passengers a year with a fleet of 35 trains containing 417 seats each. Dr. Rumaih bin Mohammed Al-Rumaih, chairman of the Public Transport Authority, said the project is the region’s first high-speed electric train. The designs of the stations of the Haramain rail were inspired by the unique Islamic architecture of the cities of Makkah and Madinah.