“The Civil Defense is ensuring all trains and tracks are strictly being maintained according to designated safety regulations; this is being done through the Civil Defense’s Haj Operations Center,” said Al-Qarni.
“The control room is monitoring trains on 30 screens while the movement of pilgrims is being tracked with 500 cameras covering all places in Makkah and the holy sites,” he added.
A number of Civil Defense teams have been deployed along the railway track and at stations in case of emergencies. “The company that is operating the trains is also working in collaboration with the Civil Defense to ensure everything is as safe as possible,” he added.
Some Civil Defense officials are also present in the train’s control room to monitor safety, said Al-Qarni, adding that naming and assigning numbers to locations in the holy sites is something that helps pilgrims and officials locate tents easily.
“The numbering will certainly help the Civil Defense teams to rapidly reach emergency locations,” he said.
Al-Qarni commended the new chain bus service for pilgrims, which saves pilgrims a lot of time traveling from Mina to Arafat and back. A circular road has been set apart exclusively for the chain service.
“The chain bus service, the train service, the completion of the Jamrat Bridge, and the expansion of Arafat have considerably helped minimize accidents and are allowing the emergency services to operate in a more effective way,” he said.
Al-Qarni said the Civil Defense has become more efficient by adopting modern technology and that they can easily identify likely accident spots not only in Haj but also elsewhere in the Kingdom around the year.
