Hajj pilgrims laud China-built light rail service in Saudi Arabia

MAKKAH: More than two million Muslims took part in the symbolic stoning of the devil Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, the last major ritual of the Hajj pilgrimage that heralds the start of the Eid al-Adha feast.

The pilgrims from around the globe started the hajj pilgrimage on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, one of the world´s largest annual gatherings in a country undergoing unprecedented change.

The pilgrims start travelling for Hajj destinations in Makkah taking light rails constructed and operated by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC).

Many of the pilgrims, who travel by the light rail for the first time, gave the thumbs up to the fast and convenient services of the Chinese company, as the rail staff were busy helping passengers board the train, according to Chinese media.

Li Chongyang, the vice general manager of CRCC, told Xinhua that the light rail system is estimated to safely and accurately accomplish 2.5 million trips in the Hajj season that lasts five days from Sunday according to the Islamic calendar.

The CRCC won the bidding of the light rail project in 2009, and provided service for over 15 million trips in 2010-2014.

This year, the Saudi government gave the operating contract worth 93 million U.S. dollars to the CRCC again, three years after the company handed the operation back to the Saudi government.