One million used China-built light rail during Hajj

[Aeon]

One million used China-built light rail during Hajj | APP

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (APP): The Makkah Metro in Saudi Arabia has carried more than one million pilgrims during the Hajj pilgrimage, builder of the line China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) said on Saturday.

During the five-days of activity, the metro ran more than 700 times, CRCC, which will also run the line for three years, said.

The Makkah Metro, the first dual-track light railway in Saudi Arabia, began operating on Nov 13 to ease congestion during pilgrims’ visits to Makkah.

The 18-kilometer-long line with nine stations links Makkah and the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. It can carry up to 72,000 passengers in one hour.

The project is expected to operate at 35 percent capacity in the first phase and reach full capacity by May 2011.

The 1.8-billion-U.S.-dollar line was the first cooperation project between China and Saudi Arabia after the two countries signed an agreement in June 2008 to enhance cooperation in infrastructure construction.

The line was the first light rail system built by Chinese companies in the Middle East.

 

[CardSharp]

The 18-kilometer-long line with nine stations links Makkah and the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. It can carry up to 72,000 passengers in one hour.

That is insane...

 

[somebozo]

A Pakistani company is taking care of all electronics, signaling and automation needs of this project as an approved contractor of Thales. We should be proud!

 

[AUz]

A Pakistani company is taking care of all electronics, signaling and automation needs of this project as an approved contractor of Thales. We should be proud!

d really?? Wow we should be proud indeed. Can you give the name of that Pakistani company???

 

[conworldus]

That's a lot of pilgrims.... I wonder what's the train car capacity. Safety is important there has been too many accidents during such mass movements in the past.

 

[somebozo]

d really?? Wow we should be proud indeed. Can you give the name of that Pakistani company???

i can but not sure if its the right thing to do!

 

[Hyde]

i can but not sure if its the right thing to do!

why its not a right thing to do Sir?

Its not a highly confidential defence deal... please disclose it

I have closely followed this project and also seen some of construction work being done last year on my pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia... but didn't hear about any Pakistani company.

Please reveal the name

 

[AUz]

i can but not sure if its the right thing to do!

Why???? Why it is not right??? After all,By disclosing the name of company,You are increasing the respect of that Pakistani company in the eyes of Pakistanis.Is I am wrong????

 

[Aeon]

 

[Aeon]

China earns newfound respect with Mashair | ArabNews.com
Nov 20, 2010 00:13
Updated: Nov 20, 2010 00:46

MINA: Perhaps the most notable improvement of Saudi Arabia’s many projects to accommodate Haj pilgrims is the railway that shuttled tens of thousands of people around the holy sites.

As the modern, high-tech trains picked up and dropped off passengers, they created a newfound respect for Chinese-made products and Chinese-engineering prowess. Officials said the multibillion-riyal project that was started last year will about triple its capacity from present levels when completed in 2012. Nonetheless, the rail system has already alleviated vehicular traffic around Mina and made travel for many pilgrims a snap.

The Sino-Saudi relationship has been growing over the last decade as China has sought more fossil fuels to power its economic growth. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah helped realign the nation’s trade relationships with the implementation of a “Look East” policy, which has fostered imports of heavy machinery and construction equipment as well as consumer goods. China has also raised the quality of its exported goods to fight earlier perceptions that its exports were inferior to products manufactured elsewhere.

“We would go to shopping malls and ask for Made-in-Germany and Made-in-Japan stuff. We would look down upon Made-in-China stuff,” said Suleiman Al-Hatrash, a social-sciences teacher at an Abha college. “We started taking China seriously when we went to the Western countries and saw their shopping malls filled with Made-in-China goods.”

However, the state-of-the-art rail system is changing peoples’ perceptions about China almost as fast as it is whisking passengers around Mina.

“People couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw pilgrims being ferried between the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat,” said journalist Hadi Fakihi. “Those who rode the train were gushing about its high-tech aspects. China has overnight become a nation to respect and emulate.”

“China has won hearts with this successful project,” said Rashad Husein, vice president of the South Asian Pilgrim Establishment. “It is the first time China has executed such a massive project in the Islamic world. This will not only bring China and the Muslim world closer; this will strengthen the bond between Saudi Arabia and China.”

The technology transfers are not one way. Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s national oil company, has lent refining expertise and resources to oil and petrochemical projects in partnership with Chinese companies. Some less tangible things are being exported back to China as well.

Of China’s population of nearly 1.4 billion, about 23 million are Muslims. About 13,000 Chinese Muslims performed Haj this year, which included imams, doctors and government officials. Most of the Chinese railway engineers were not Muslims when they arrived in the Kingdom. A special town was set up for them beyond the jurisdiction of Makkah as the holy city is off-limits to non-Muslims. During the course of the construction of the railway, many of the Chinese engineers embraced Islam.

“That led to even greater love and respect for the Chinese,” said Ali Al-Harithy, a Saudi businessman conducting commerce with China. He said he also was impressed that the new stronger ties with China don’t seem to be disruptive to the Kingdom’s longstanding associations with the United States and Europe.

“It was America that helped the Arab states discover oil, and ever since ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States have been very close,” Al-Harithy said. “For China to create space for itself in this region is phenomenal. This Makkah Metro is world-class, and every single aspect of it was carried out in Chinese factories by Chinese technicians and engineers. It is an engineering marvel. Hats off to the Chinese.”

“‘Made in China’ is no longer a taboo label,” said Sudanese journalist Hassan Ibrahim. “It has now earned a halo of respectability.”