Chinese-operated light rail completes hajj service

The light rail service Mecca Metro—built and operated by Chinese company CRCC—ferried millions of pilgrims between holy sites in Saudi Arabia during hajj, which ended on Saturday.

According to CRCC, the service ran around the clock during hajj, handling 2.15 million passenger trips during the weeklong pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics said that more than 1.8 million pilgrims participated in hajj this year.

This year's Mecca Metro service, which began at 4 am on June 25 and ended at 6 pm on Saturday, made 2,208 trips, covering more than 50,000 kilometers. The 18.25-km rail line has nine stations, connecting three holy sites related to the annual pilgrimage.