BRI points Saudi Arabia's rail network in the right direction

Challenges overcome

In addition to the Mecca Metro, another railway construction project in Saudi Arabia has been completed by CCRC, despite the challenges of building a high-speed railway in desert conditions.

With a total length of 450 km and a top speed of 360 km per hour, the Haramain High Speed Railway, aka the Mecca-Medina railway, runs through four cities — Mecca, Rabigh, Jeddah and Medina — providing services for more than 15 million passengers annually, according to statistics from the Hainan University Belt and Road Research Institute.

As the world's first high-speed railway to cross a desert, the facility was completed after numerous challenges were overcome, including laying solid foundations in a desert region, harsh weather — such as frequent sandstorms and extreme temperatures — and a shortage of skilled workers.

"This is the third rail project we have built in Saudi Arabia. Previously, we built the Saudi Arabia North-South Railway and the Mecca Light Rail. During seven years of construction of the Mecca-Medina high-speed railway, we have trained more than 400 local technical workers, hired over 1,000 local workers and created more than 1,500 job opportunities," said Chen Debin, a project manager with the China Railway 18th Bureau Group in the Mecca-Medina project.

"We have not only exchanged engineering and technical expertise, but we have also established many deep friendships with the local people."

Luo Wangshu contributed to this story.

quanzhanfu@chinadaily.com.cn