Saudi Arabia's high-speed Haramain train to generate over 2,000 jobs, says official

Arab News
February 17, 2018

Makkah, Feb 17: The Haramain rail project, or “Makkah-Madinah high-speed railway,” will create more than 2,000 jobs for Saudis, according to the former director general of the Haramain train, Dr. Bassam Gholman.

Gholman said 12,000 passengers would be able to travel between Makkah and Madinah every hour, providing secure and comfortable transport for pilgrims and other users. It was possible to operate 10 trips of 21 minutes between Makkah and Jeddah every hour, and two per hour between Makkah and Madinah.

He said the SR60 billion ($16 billion) project included four train stations in Makkah, Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City and Madinah, in addition to a fifth station at the new King Abdul Aziz Airport, and could help to dismantle many slums.

The Saudi Ministry of Transport is running trips on the Haramain train from Makkah to Madinah to collect feedback and prepare for the launch of commercial operations.

Ministry spokesman Abdullah Sayel said one trip this week between Makkah to Madinah hosted students, supervisors and faculty members from Umm Al-Qura University. This was an extension of weekly trips incorporating social partnerships with various entities, including the public and private sector.

Sayel said that the Haramain train has been operating trips every weekend between Madinah to Makkah to gauge the operational capabilities of the train.

Abdulmonem Boukhary, former public relations and media director at the Makkah Chamber of Trade and Industry, said that the train service between the two holy cities would have a huge economic impact and take two hours compared with the current five- hour drive.

The Haramain service is one of the biggest public transport projects in the Middle East, a 450 kilometer two-way electric train linking Makkah and Madinah, with extensions to Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City.

The project will transport 60 million passengers per year on 35 trains, with a seating capacity of 417 per train and traveling at a speed of 300 kph.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jun 17: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has allowed students still enrolled in universities overseas to obtain exceptions to attendance policies at their respective academic institutions in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the ministry said that the move stems from its keenness to ensure the continuity of education for those students and to maintain effective channels of communication with them.

Students' applications for exceptions to academic attendance in universities due to Covid-19 should be submitted following the end of the academic year, and not after the academic semester, via the following email: [email protected].

In their email, students have to explain the reasons for the required exceptions and should include an official message from the university concerned.

Scholarship approval issued by the Ministry of Education for studying abroad should also be attached.

The student's score reports for the academic years spent in the host countries and the duration of each academic year should also be attached, in addition to an entry and exit report of the student from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Sharjah, Apr 20: Air Arabia announced on Monday it will operate new repatriation flights from four cities in India to Sharjah carrying UAE nationals back home.

The special flights will operate from Mumbai and Delhi to Sharjah International Airport on April 20 while special flights will operate from Kochi and Hyderabad to Sharjah International Airport on April 22.

Air Arabia remains committed to bring stranded citizens back home as well as supporting requests to operate repatriation flights and is working closely with UAE authorities in this regard, the airline said.

Air Arabia announced earlier that it’s operating a mix of repatriation flights as well as cargo flights during the month of April to multiple destinations.

Further information about the repatriation and cargo flights is available on the website or can be obtained by contacting the Air Arabia call centre on 06 5580000 or respective travel agent.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.

"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.

Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.

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