RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Haramain High Speed Railway transported more than 50,000 pilgrims during the first Hajj since it started operating. The train, which runs between 8 a.m and 12 p.m., takes just three hours to travel from Madinah to Makkah, and 40 minutes from Jeddah to Makkah. Rayan Al-Harbi, the railway’s operations and maintenance director, said that the Hajj schedule operated 192 journeys with double seating capacity to accommodate increased demand. This meant each train had more than 830 seats compared to the normal 417, during the regular schedule. Al-Harbi said on top of Hajj, the trains also catered for the increased demand from passengers spending Eid Al-Adha between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah. He said that the inauguration of the Haramain railway’s fifth station at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah would allow worshippers to travel directly to Makkah. “The station is linked with the airport to easily serve the pilgrims and visitors and facilitate the reception of those coming by air,” said Al-Harbi. He explained that the new station will feature six tracks, handling more than 2,000 passengers every hour.