MAKKAH METRO CONTRACTS
Posted on 29 November 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
French group Thales has won a €103 million euro ($US144 million) contract to supply train control and communications systems for the 20km new elevated Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah metro in the Muslim holy city Makkah, scheduled to be running in time for the November 2010 Hajj pilgrimage. Some two million people visit the western Saudi city during a two-week period each year. Driverless operation is to be introduced in mid-2011, when the metro will reach its full capacity of 72,000 passengers/direction/hour in time for the 2011 Hajj.
The line may be extended later to Al Haram and is the first of a proposed five-line network which would connect the area to Jeddah airport and the planned national rail network.
The contract was awarded by China Railway Construction Corporation, which is building the 20km light rail system. Thales is to supply Seltrac communications-based driverless train control, an operations control centre, cctv, Scada and passenger information systems.
Platform screen doors will be supplied by Westinghouse, Siemens will provide the power supply, and Lloyds Register has been appointed as safety assessor. Systra will supervise the civil work whilst WS Atkins is responsible for electrical and mechanical systems and project management.
The metro will transport pilgrims to holy sites in Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mena during the Hajj, reducing congestion caused by buses and cars. The line will also carry Umrah pilgrims throughout the year. Each site will have three stations and will be served by 300m long, 12-car trains to be supplied by Changchun.
The metro will open in time for the November 2010 Hajj, operating at 35% capacity initially with automatic train protection to assist manual driving.
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