The second phase of the project includes the construction of railway tracks, installation of signaling and telecommunication systems, electrification, operational control center and the procurement of 35 trains.
It also includes operation and maintenance of the project for a period of 12 years.
The project is a 444-kilometer high-speed inter-city rail transport system linking the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Rabigh and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, a key entry point for millions of pilgrims.
More than 3,000 properties will be acquired to make way for the rail track between Makkah and Rabigh, where the King Abdullah Economic City, which is currently under construction, is located, apart from the properties lying in the region between Rabigh and Madinah, the SRO source said.
The source added that the acquisition process was progressing as scheduled.
The process would continue without affecting the progress of the final stage of the project, the source said.
In a related development the Transport Ministry urged all property owners on the railway track in the Binladin plot area in Bahra to contact the General Administration for Roads and Transportation in Jeddah.
The owners should also carry survey maps of their properties to speed up the transfer of ownership formalities.
In Makkah province, 219 properties have been added to the list of plots to be acquired and compensated for because of a plan to expand the track.
According to the SRO source the project works will continue as scheduled especially after the signing of the new contract.
The SRO approved the award of the second phase of the contract to the Saudi-Spanish Al-Shoula consortium at a cost of SR36 billion (6.74 billion euro or $9.3 billion).
The high-speed railway aims mainly to reduce the time and simplify pilgrim movement between Makkah and Madinah, the volume of which reached close to 3 million in the current Haj season.
