German firm TUV Rheinland has won a contract to support the operation of the Al-Mashaaer al-Mugaddassah metro (Mecca metro) during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage for the third year in a row.

The scope of the works covers the provision of safety assurance, operations safety, systems assurance and operational readiness.

TUV Rheinland will be working with the Chinese Railway Construction Corporation and the Municipality and Rural Affairs Ministry to ensure the safe transportation of the millions of Muslim pilgrims expected to travel to Mecca this Hajj.

The 18-kilometre metro line connects the holy sites of Mecca, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. It has a capacity to transport 72,000 passengers an hour.

The metro system was launched in 2010 with a limited-capacity test run and was fully operational by the following year.

There are further plans to improve Mecca’s public transport network through a SR60bn ($16.5bn) Mecca Public Transport Programme, which includes a mass transit rail project.

On 7 July, US firm Parsons Brinckerhoff was awarded the project management contract for the project. Early plans for the rail network include four main lines, 114km of track and 62 stations.