MINA, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has unveiled an elevated light-rail train that will shuttle some Muslims during the hajj among Islam’s holy sites, part of plans to turn the ancient city of Mecca into a modern metropolis and ease crowding from the annual pilgrimage.
The four-day Islamic pilgrimage draws around 2.5 million worshipers each year, and the large numbers present authorities with a challenge in preventing stampedes, fires in pilgrim encampments and the spread of disease.
Dubbed the Mecca Metro, the new 11-mile railway is to begin shuttling pilgrims between holy sites starting today, although it’s reserved for Saudis and citizens of other Persian Gulf nations until it is fully operational next year.
The train is part of a project that will enable Mecca to increase the number of pilgrims it can host annually from the current 10 million to around 50 million by 2020.
