In a historic feat, a high-speed train arrived at a station in Jeddah on Tuesday, marking the first time a train passes through the Saudi city.
This comes as part of the Al-Haramain High-Speed Rail Project, which is set to link the Holy cities of Mecca and Medinah.
The train took off on a pilot trip from the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, arriving in Jeddah, as part of operational tests being conducted on Al-Haramain's rail system.
"A historic day for the city of Jeddah. The experimental arrival of Al-Haramain train today is considered the first train arrival in the history of the city's ancient history that dates back 3,000 years."
According to >Gulf Today, the Al-Haramain train project features a 450-kilometer-long electric railway, which will link the cities of Mecca and Medinah via Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City, and King Abdulaziz International Airport.
Designed to serve 60 million passengers annually, the railway will most notably benefit Muslim pilgrims who visit the two holy cities during Hajj.
The project is expected to help reduce traffic, road accidents, as well as pollution levels.
It is being described as the largest public transportation project in the Middle East; experts say it is the region's first high-speed electric train, >Arab News reported.
The latest signaling and communication systems will be integrated into the trains.
The head of the General Authority of Railways in the kingdom, Dr. Rumaih Mohammed Al-Rumaih, said the railway project has successfully passed the first operational tests and is slated to be completed by the end of 2017.