(14 Nov 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of Metro train arriving at station
2. Mid of station operator waving flag
3. Mid of front of train
4. Close of screen showing station stops
5. Mid of interior of carriage
6. Screen inside train reading (English) ‘Welcome to Makkah Metro’
7. Mid of exit sign
8. Set up shot of the Mayor of Mecca, Ossama Al Bar
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ossama Al Bar, Mayor of Mecca:
“We are trying to make Mecca the first city in the world that answers to the desires of its residents and visitors and pilgrims throughout the year.”
10. Close of framed photo of the leader of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah (right) and late King Abdul-Aziz (left.)
STORYLINE
Some worshippers beginning the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Sunday are to test a new way to avoid the crowds: an elevated light-rail that will whisk them between holy sites.
The rail service is to begin a limited service Monday, operating at around 33 percent of its expected capacity.
The four-day Islamic pilgrimage draws around 2.5 (m) million worshippers each year, and the large numbers present authorities with a challenge in preventing stampedes at holy sites, fires in pilgrim encampments and the spread of disease.
Officials hope the new 11-mile (18-kilometre) train line, which is reserved for Saudis and citizens of other Gulf nations until it becomes fully operational next year, will alleviate crowding.
The first phase of the train project, called the Mecca Metro, will transport pilgrims between Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa – three stops during the pilgrims’ journey that trace the steps of the Prophet Muhammad and Abraham.
The lime green cars zoom along an elevated rail, passing over the permanent white tents where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims spend the night on the way to the major sites.
There are 12 trains now, each with a capacity of three-thousand people, said train operator Ahmed Hosny.
The 2 (b) billion US dollar train was constructed by a Chinese company.
About 100 Egyptians have been brought in to help operate the train during this year’s hajj because of their experience running Cairo’s metro.
During the tests Sunday, a recorded message in Arabic and English warned passengers to “mind the gap,” borrowing the much-loved phrase from London’s metro, known as The Tube.
The new train will replace thousands of buses that shuttle pilgrims between the holy sites, reducing pollution as well as traffic congestion.
According to Mecca city council officials the train is one of many development projects aiming to turn the holy city into a high-tech metropolis.
Other projects include installing wireless connections and adhering to a green policy.
“We are trying to make Mecca the first city in the world that answers to the desires of its residents and visitors and pilgrims throughout the year,” the Mayor of Mecca, Ossama Al Bar, said.
The train doesn’t stop at Mecca’s holy sites, which include the holiest in Islam: the Kaaba and the Grand Mosque.
Besides crowding, authorities are also concerned about security.
On Thursday, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said security forces were on alert for any threats.
An al-Qaida offshoot in neighbouring Yemen has targeted senior Saudi officials and has claimed responsibility for the recent mail bomb plot.
The kingdom has for years carried out development and construction projects to expand and improve the spaces used by millions of pilgrims from around the world to perform one of Islam’s main pillars, required of every able-bodied Muslim once in their lifetime.
More than two (m) million pilgrims had already arrived before the weekend, and Saudi officials say they expect a nearly 20 percent increase in the numbers this year compared to last year.
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Post time: Jun-18-2017