The opening of the airport station coincides with the reopening of the Haramain high-speed line which has been closed since September 26 following a serious fire at Jeddah station. A 1.5km bypass has been constructed around the damaged station to enable trains to run from Medina to Mecca once more. King Abudulaziz International Airport station will serve as the main station for Jeddah until repairs are completed to the city’s main station.
The airport branch line has flying junctions facing both north and south so that high-speed trains can operate to both Medina and via Jeddah to Mecca. The branch line which includes a 4km tunnel, together with Jeddah bypass, were constructed by the Saudi-Spanish Al Shoula consortium which built the original line.
The station has six tracks with 518m-long platforms which can accommodate two high-speed trains operating in multiple. Two trains coupled together have a maximum capacity of 832 passengers.
The airport station covers an area of 12,000m2 and is designed to handle up to 20 million passengers per year. The station has two lounges and is linked directly to the new Terminal 1 at the airport which opened in September.
Five trains per day from Wednesday to Sunday are initially running between King Abudulaziz International Airport and Medina, while services heading south to Mecca should start next week. Trains can operate to the airport at 10-minute intervals in peak periods.
Al Shoula says ERTMS Level 2 will come on stream in the next few days allowing trains to resume operation at 300km/h.
