Transport 

Transport is without doubt the most talked about subject during the Haj. Almost every pilgrim has his own ideas about how transport services could be improved. The origin of these ideas is the pain endured by most pilgrims due to inadequacies in transport services. If Haj is "a struggle", then enduring these inadequacies is an important component of this "struggle." When a 7 km journey takes 10 hours by bus, you can easily imagine the agony you would have to endure. This is 'a human failing', not 'a test' by the Almighty.

This site is not the appropriate place to discuss the macro aspects of the transport problem. Instead some tips are given below to help the intending pilgrim to cope with this pain.

1. In anticipation of the air-con system in your bus malfunctioning, bring along a hand fan and small towel.

2. You will see a lot of things along the way that worsens the traffic situation. These include indiscriminate parking, improperly maintained buses that have broken down, accidents and the quarrels that follow, inadequate traffic enforcement personnel in some stretches, drivers who disregard traffic rules to make as many trips as possible, etc. 

Do not let all these bring out the animal in you. Remain calm. Remain focused on the big picture. Think about your pleas and pledges to The Almighty a short while ago at Arafat and the specific things you should be doing from now to make you a better servant of The Almighty. 

(This is an evolving web site. More content will be added. Please visit periodically. Thank you.)

Transport news 

Blood test for drug abuse

3200 blood tests were carried out by the Saudi
authorities to detect drug abuse amongst bus drivers transporting Hajj pilgrims in December 2006. 11 tested positive.

Monorail study

A feasibility study is being done to link Makkah, Mina, Arafah and Muzdalifah by monorail. If implemented, the number of buses used during Hajj can be reduced from the present 70,000 to 45,000.

Railway link

A plan to link Makkah and Medina by railway
 via the commercial hub and entry port of
Jeddah has been approved.

The train will travel up to 300 km per hour,
allowing a Mecca-Jeddah journey time of
half an hour and Jeddah-Medina in two hours.
The timetable for this project has not been
announced.