Jakarta (Indonesia Window) - The Haramain train has been operating with a running speed of 300 kilometers/hour and having a 279.7-kilometer roundtrip between Rabigh (in Makkah Province) and Madinah starting Wednesday (Jan 1).

The Saudi Gazette report quoted by Indonesia Window here on Thursday said that the increase in speed of the Haramain train was achieved after the operation and safety trials.

The Haramain railway management said in a statement that the train would operate with a speed of 300 kilometers /hour between the King Abdullah Economic City Station in Rabigh and Madinah.

"This will reduce travel time between the new station King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) and the Medina Station by around two hours while the journey between Makkah and Medina will take about two hours and 45 minutes," according to the Haramain railway management.

The Haramain trains provide 16 services per day during the mid-academic holidays from January 3 to 19. New non-stop services will start at 8 am and will continue until 11 nights throughout the week.

The Haramain train resumed operations between Makkah and Madinah on 18 December 2019 after a gap of more than two and a half months.

The route operates from the Jeddah KAIA new terminal railway station on December 11, 2019 after the main station in the Sulaymaniyah District in Jeddah was not operating due to a large fire.

The Sulaymaniyah Station caught fire on September 29, 2019, forcing a temporary suspension of the Makkah-Jeddah-Madinah route services.

The high-speed Haramain train is the largest and fastest train system in the Middle East region.

All the Haramain railway stations provide a variety of facilities including business class lounges, public transportation centers, parking lots, and mosques.

Reporting by Indonesia Window