Users’ Experience and Evaluation of the New Southern Masha’er Metro Line in Makkah
DESCRIPTION:
The paper is based on the project “Assessment of the Masha’er Rail Line in Makkah”, conducted by SETS in 2011. The paper was co-authored by:
Isam Kaysi, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Director, Transport Research Unit, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: (+961) 3888-199, Fax: (+961) 1744-462, E-mail: isam@aub.edu.lb
Amer Shalaby, Ph.D. P.Eng. Professor and Board Chair Urban Transportation Research and Advancement Centre, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada, M5S 1A4 Tel: (416) 978-5907, Fax: (416) 978-5054, Email: amer.shalaby@utoronto.ca
Mounira Sayour, Electrical and Computer Engineer. SETS sarl, P.O. Box 113-7442 Beirut, Lebanon, Tel: (+961) 1755-411, Fax: (+961) 1755-422, E-mail: msayour@setsintl.net
Baha Alshalalfah, Ph.D. Transport Specialist, SETS sarl, P.O. Box 113-7442 Beirut, Lebanon. Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: (+961) 1755-411; Fax: (+961) 1755-422, E-mail:balshalalfah@setsintl.net
Arwa Sayegh, MSc. Transport Planner, Institute of Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. Tel: (+44) 7712-647391, E-mail: ts11ass@leeds.ac.uk
Adnan Gutub, Ph.D. Professor, Director, Center of Research Excellence in Hajj and Omrah, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, P.O.Box: 6287, Tel: (+966) 2558-7456, E-mail:aagutub@uqu.edu.sa
ABSTRACT
Each year during the 9th month of the Muslim lunar calendar, more than 2 million Muslim pilgrims from around the world travel to the Holy City of Makkah in Saudi Arabia to perform Pilgrimage. A significant milestone in the effort to improve the existing transport system in the Holy City has been the introduction of the Southern Masha’er Rail Line during the 2010 pilgrimage season. In its first year of operation, the line operated at only 35% of its full capacity, before full implementation in the following year when the line operated at full capacity of 72,000 passengers per hour. This paper presents the results of a users’ survey that aimed at assessing the performance of the rail line from the perspective of its users. The analysis revealed that the rail users faced longer access, waiting and egress times compared to regular rail operations standards. However, interestingly enough, the survey results show that the majority of pilgrims found these times to be tolerable. Moreover, the majority of users found the rail line and its stations to be of excellent quality and gave positive recommendations about using the rail line in the future. The analysis also produced some very interesting observations that may be of relevance to rail operation in similar crowded events; these are highlighted throughout the paper.
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