Crowd management, hospitality in the spotlight at Hajj Expo 2023.

ISLAMABAD -- Crowd management and hospitality were the subjects of discussion on the third day of the Hajj Expo 2023 in Jeddah.

The first panel, Transportation Services, and Crowd Management: Effectiveness and Safety, shed light on the importance of the well-being of pilgrims and Umrah performers.

It also touched upon the effectiveness and quality of services provided by the various means of transportation.

Speakers included Fawaz Al-Matihi, the commander of Special Forces for Hajj and Umrah Security; Rayan Al-Harbi, the vice president of Saudi Arabia Railways; and Ghassan Iraqi, general manager at the Saudi Public Transport Co.

Al-Matihi said: 'The Grand Mosque in Makkah is visited by huge crowds from around the world, and safety comes first.

'How do we achieve that? Through crowd management, to ensure that these crowds reach their destinations safely during Hajj rituals.

Al-Matihi added that every zone at the Grand Mosque had a limited capacity, and that had to be taken into account by the presence of gates, escalators, entrances, and bridges.

'The existing services and arrival times for dropping pilgrims from different methods of transport will be taken into account, as failure to observe these matters may lead to risks that we do not want to take,' Al-Matihi said.

Al-Harbi said that the Hajj metro would be fully operational and up to full capacity during the season.

He added that it would include '17 express trains and an operational capacity to transport 72,000 passengers per hour. Also, there will be 35 SAR trains that connect Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah with its two stations, Arab News reported.

He said: 'The train carries 417 passengers, and double trips are also possible to accommodate around 800 passengers.

'Hajj metro transports 3,000 pilgrims every 90 seconds. All this is to provide an enriching Hajj experience for...

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