The 6.79 billion riyal design and construction contract for Phase I Package 1 – Civil Works for the project was awarded in March 2009 to Al Rajhi Alliance, which comprises China Railway Construction Corporation, Al Arrab Contracting Company Ltd, Al Suwailem Company and the French construction company Bouygues. It is cooperating with the consultant Saudi Consolidated Engineering Company. Scott Wilson Group will provide project management support.
Package 2
Phase I Package 2 covers construction of four of the five stations. In April 2009, $38 million worth of design contracts for the stations in Mecca, Medina, Jeddah and KAIA were awarded to a joint venture between Foster + Partners and Buro Happold. In February 2011 the station construction contracts were awarded to Joint Venture between Saudi Oger Ltd & El Seif Engineering for, Saudi Bin laden and a Turkish Company "Yapi Merkezi" for Medina Station.
Phase II
Phase 2 of the project includes the remaining infrastructure not included in Phase-1: track, signalling, telecommunications, power, electrification, etc. It also includes procurement of rolling stock and operations and maintenance for a period of 12 years after completion. Prequalified consortia for HHR Phase 2 included Saudi Binladin Group, Badr Consortium, China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock, Al-Shoula Group and Al-Rajhi Alliance. On 26 October 2011, at the Saudi Railways Organization announced that the Saudi-Spanish consortium Al‑Shoula Group, which includes Talgo, Renfe, Adif, Copasa, Imathia, Consultrans, Ineco, Cobra, Indra, Dimetronic, Inabensa, OHL, AL-Shoula and Al-Rosan, had been chosen for the contract. Talgo will supply 35 Talgo 350 trains similar to 102/112 series used on Spanish high-speed lines for EUR 1,257 billion and an option for 23 more for 800 million. They differ from the 112 series with 13 cars to 417 seats Renfe and Adif will operate the trains and manage the line for 12 years. The project was originally planned to open in 2012, taking six years longer to complete than anticipated. The total contract value is EUR 6.736 billion.
Design
The double-track line is electrified and the design speed is. Trains run in service at, and travelling the between Jeddah and Makkah takes 43 minutes, while the between Makkah and Medina takes about 2 hours. The track, rolling stock and stations are designed to handle the temperatures ranging from to. It is expected that the train will transport 60 million passengers a year on 35 trains, with a seating capacity of 417 per train.
Engineer
commissioned Dar Al-handasah to prepare the concept design and tender documents of the Haramain High Speed Rail project. Dar Al-handasah was also assigned to the construction supervision and project management of the HHSR. Dar Al-handasah work on the HHSR incorporates one cut-and-cover tunnel, 46 rail bridges, 9 wadi bridges, and 5 rail underpasses, 53 vehicular overpasses, 30 vehicular underpasses, 12 camel crossings, 5 stations, and 3 depots to allow the rail to fulfil the needs of its users.
Trains
36 Spanish Talgo 350 SRO trains have been ordered, one of these is expected to include a Dual coach pair for up to 20 or 30 VIPs; they will run at 300 km/h. The propulsion and bogies were made at Bombardier factories in Spain.
The Makkah Central Station is located near the 3rd Ring Road, in Rusaiyfah District near the Rusaiyfah park and ride to the Grand Mosque. The Jeddah Central Station is located on Haramain Road, in Al-Naseem District. The railway alignment route is on the median of the Haramain road. Medina has a passenger station. A station, connected via branch line, is built in the new King Abdulaziz International Airport. According to Saudi Railways Organisation the stations are "aesthetically iconic" buildings with designs which take into account Islamic architectural traditions. They will have shops, restaurants, mosques, car parking, a helipad and VIP lounges. Stations were designed by Buro Happold and Foster + Partners.
