---
title: Mashaaer Metro
url: "https://www.systra.com/arabia/project/mashaaer-metro/"
type: projects
date_published: 2025-09-09
date_modified: 2025-09-11
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language: en-US
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reading_time: 3 min
canonical: "https://www.systra.com/arabia/project/mashaaer-metro/"
featured_image: "https://www.systra.com/arabia/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/10/me-rail_mashaaer-metro.jpg"
---

# Mashaaer Metro

![Mashaaer Metro](https://www.systra.com/arabia/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/10/me-rail_mashaaer-metro.jpg)

The Al Mashaaer Al Muqaddasah Metro Project (MMMP) is an electric,
environmentally friendly shuttle system that connects the holy sites of Mina,
Muzdalifah, and Arafat via nine stations along an 18-kilometer corridor.
Commissioned in 2010, the MMMP is recognized as one of the world’s most
intensely used metro systems, operating at a capacity of 72,000 passengers per
hour per direction.

**SYSTRA** **Arabia** has been involved in the project from the start, first
executing the concept and preliminary designs for the client and later
performing the feasibility study for the metro’s northern line under the
jurisdiction of the Makkah Region Development Authority (MRDA). ​In 2009, SYSTRA
Arabia was further appointed to carry out the detailed design of the Mashaaer
Metro’s Southern Line, in collaboration with CRCC.

## designed with pilgrims in mind

Unique among metro systems, the MMMP operates for just one week each year,
operating exclusively during the annual Hajj to transport millions of pilgrims
between Islam’s holiest sites in a matter of days. Designed to relieve
congestion and enhance safety, the metro system eliminates nearly 50,000 bus
trips during the Hajj season, significantly reducing traffic and improving crowd
management across the sacred sites. The whole line is elevated, running on
precast concrete viaducts, with nine stations and a depot. Given its unique
operational demands, the system requires ongoing upgrades and careful
maintenance planning.

To that end, in 2019, **SYSTRA** **Arabia **and its JV partner were appointed as
the PMO/PMC for operations and maintenance of the Mashaaer Metro Southern Line
under Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR).

![Al-Mashaaer-Al-Muqaddasah-Metro-Saudi-Arabia](https://www.systra.com/arabia/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2025/03/al-mashaaer-al-muqaddasah-metro-saudi-arabia.jpeg)

## building on the metro’s success

**SYSTRA ** **Arabia** extended its role on the MMMP in 2025 by signing a
36-month project sole management consultancy contract with SAR. This latest
agreement builds on the company’s expertise in managing large-scale transit
systems in complex, high-density environments.

As PMC, **SYSTRA Arabia **is overseeing a broad scope of improvements including
signalling and power system upgrades, enhanced fire protection measures, and
passenger safety features such as escalator and elevator modernization and
platform gap reduction, as well as aesthetic enhancements such as repainting,
signage updates, and improved passenger amenities.

A central component of **SYSTRA Arabia**’s mandate will be the supervision of
MMMP operations during the Hajj, a period marked by the movement of nearly two
million pilgrims within a constrained geographic area. In such a context,
operational excellence, safety, and reliability are critical, and SYSTRA’s
technical leadership will be key in ensuring the success of each Hajj season
throughout the contract duration.

![mashaaer-metro](https://www.systra.com/arabia/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2025/03/mashaaer-metro.jpg)