JEDDAH: The General Organization of Railways is to review the construction of bridges, tunnels and train lines for the Al-Haramain Train Project following the Nov. 25 flash floods, reported Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

This was revealed by Abdul Aziz Al-Hiqail, president of the General Organization of Railways, who said the route of the train project would remain the same.

“The previous designs detailed bridges, tunnels and train lines, but the organization has deemed it proper to review them in light of the recent flash floods,” said Al-Hiqail.

He added that the cost of the project might increase if alterations were deemed necessary, adding that the route of the new train project would remain the same and that only the specifications of bridges and tunnels would be reviewed to ensure they are able to tolerate difficult weather, similar to what was seen on Nov. 25.

The president also revealed that out of 61 real estate units in Madinah 27 are to be demolished to make space for the new train line. He added that the value of the real estate has been evaluated to compensate owners. “Most of them are farms,” he added. So far 800 real estate units in Makkah and Jeddah have been identified for expropriation by a special committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Transport, municipality bodies, chambers of commerce and industry, and the General Organization of Railways. The organization plans to offer for general bidding early next year the second stage of the project which will be operational in 2012.

The proposed train project will provide fast transport between Makkah and Madinah, and link the two cities to Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh. On completion, the train link will annually transport about 20 million pilgrims and visitors.

The General Organization of Railways submitted documents regarding the second stage to bidders last October. This stage includes the construction of railway lines, train signals and communication systems; the import of locomotives and other equipment; and the building of two electric rail lines of 450 kilometers.

The first phase of the project was offered to contractors last February. It included civil works costing SR6.7 billion ($1.8 billion).