MAKKAH: The Saudi Public Transport Authority (PTA) confirmed that it has not yet set ticket prices for the trains operating between Makkah and Madinah, but said it is in the process of addressing the matter.
The PTA stressed that the prices are going to be suitable for everyone and will reflect the services provided.
The spokesman of the PTA, Abdullah Sail, told Arab News that the PTA is going to continue its pilot service trips of the Haramain high-speed train in the next few months. Some passengers will be invited to try the train experience and the services provided on it during weekends and some special trips. Sail said: “These trips are planned to increase gradually until we reach full commercial operation.”
The Haramain train will start its operations with two pilot trips next week between Makkah and Madinah with a full load of passengers. However, commercial operations are expected to start by mid-2018, after the completion of the Jeddah and King Abdul Aziz airport stations.
Umrah visitors, who are expected to reach about 15 million by 2020, are impatiently waiting for the full operation of the Haramain train, which will cross the distance between the two holy cities in two hours instead of six hours by bus.
No ticket prices set yet for high-speed Haramain train
No ticket prices set yet for high-speed Haramain train
Saudi deputy health minister meets World Health Organization’s regional director
- Their meeting is part of efforts to strengthen the strategic partnership between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health and WHO
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of health for planning and development, Abdulaziz Al-Rumaih, held talks on Tuesday with the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Balkhy.
Their meeting was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the strategic partnership between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health and the WHO, officials said, and to advance high-level dialogue on shared regional and global health priorities.
They reviewed the outcomes of the first Strategic Dialogue between Saudi Arabia and WHO, which took place in August 2024, and explored opportunities for enhanced cooperation in a number of areas, including regional and international health priorities, and the development of resilient and sustainable health systems.
They highlighted the importance of effective international partnerships in efforts to improve the quality of healthcare services, the Ministry of Health said.
They also discussed the ministry’s objectives for the expansion of health-investment opportunities and a strengthening of Saudi Arabia’s role in the global health arena, with the aim of reinforcing the Kingdom’s position as a key international health partner, and a contributor to the shaping of global health policies, the localization of the pharmaceuticals sector, and the transfer of technology, it added.
Balkhy’s official visit to the Kingdom will conclude on Wednesday.
