Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will officially inaugurate the Haramain High-Speed Rail Project today (Tuesday), which is considered one of the largest transportation projects in Saudi Arabia and the largest in the Middle East. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by princes, ministers, senior officials, Islamic and diplomatic figures, decision-makers, senior investors and representatives of the implementing companies of the project. 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. 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, said Amoudi. He added that the King and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman are always committed to providing the highest quality services to pilgrims in order to fulfill Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to increase the number of pilgrims each year. 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, he explained. 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. Governor of Madinah Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, for his part, said that the King’s visit to the city promises a good future for the service of its people and visitors. He welcomed the visit on the people’s behalf and said it comes as an extension of his previous visits, “which always bring blessings and meet the requirements of development and prosperity.” On the other hand,a royal decree was issued on Monday and awarded 189 defense ministrys officers, personnel and non-commissioned officers different-level medals. The medals were in recognition of having done duties and achievements in the service of the armed forces as well as their role in the ‘Decisive Storm’ and ‘Restoring Hope’ operations.