FROM MAKKAH TO MADINAH NOW IN 120 MIN ONLY!

Saudi's first high-speed railway opens to public!

• Two daily services are initially planned in each direction.

Saudi Arabia's new high-speed railway opened to the public on Thursday, whisking Muslim pilgrims and other travellers between the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

The Haramain High Speed Rail system will transport passengers 450 kilometres via the Red Sea port of Jeddah at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour.

Two trains, each carrying 417 passengers, departed from Makkah and Madinah at 8am (0500 GMT), according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Two daily services are initially planned in each direction, it said.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia inaugurated the high-speed railway on September 25, which local officials described as the biggest transportation project in the 

region.

The new link will slash the travel time Makkah and Madinah from several hours to 120 minutes, transport officials said.

The rail project, dogged by several delays, was built at a cost of more than $16 billion, according to Saudi media.