Quick answer: The Haramain High Speed Railway links Makkah and Madinah in about 2 hours 20 minutes on a main line of 449.2 km. Tickets are sold on the operator’s own site, sar.hhr.sa, each passenger gets one bag of up to 25 kg plus a hand item, and neither main station is beside its mosque. If you ride from Madinah to Makkah for Umrah, the train doesn’t stop at the miqat (the boundary where ihram must begin), so the ihram plan needs to be settled before you board.
What the line is and where it stops
The railway opened to the public on 11 October 2018. Its main line connects Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), and a 3.75 km branch reaches King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Trains run at up to 300 km/h, and the national tourism site gives the Makkah to Madinah journey as approximately 2 hours 20 minutes. Other guides quote 2 to 2 h 45 min depending on stops, so check the timetable for the service you want.
There are five stations. Opening hours and distances below come from a guide that reports the operator’s published figures; the operator’s own pages are the ones to trust if they differ.
| Station | Area | Distance noted by operator (km) | Opening hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makkah | Ar Rusayfah | 3.5 from Masjid al-Haram | 6:30 am to 12:30 am |
| Jeddah (Al-Sulaymaniyah) | An Nassim | Not stated here | 7:30 am to 11:30 pm |
| Jeddah Airport (KAIA) | Inside main terminal | Linked to Terminal 1 | 6:30 am to 12:30 am |
| KAEC | Hejaz Gate | Not stated here | 7:30 am to 11:30 pm |
| Madinah | Al Hadra | About 9 from the city | 6:30 am to 12:30 am |
Some third-party pages put the Makkah station at 4 to 8 km from the Haram, so the figures vary by source and by route. Treat 3.5 km as the operator’s number and measure your own hotel transfer on a map. The Madinah station sits well outside the centre, so every journey ends with a road transfer.
How to book, in order
The operator says tickets can be bought through its website, its Android and iOS apps, its customer care line and station counters. Third-party resale sites exist, and some guides warn they can add service fees, so many pilgrims prefer the official channel. Group bookings made through an Umrah package are a separate matter; ask your provider which tickets they hold.
- Open sar.hhr.sa (or the official app) and choose “Book a seat”.
- Pick one way or round trip, your stations, the date and the number of adults and children.
- Choose a departure time and Economy or Business. One guide notes the class applies to the whole booking.
- Enter each traveller’s name exactly as in the passport. A travel guide citing the operator’s terms says a ticket can only be used by the named person.
- Pay, then keep the e-ticket email and SMS.
- Use the same passport you booked with at the station. International visitors need a passport that carries the visa details, according to one booking guide.
Dates on tickets are Gregorian, so convert any Hijri plans with the Hijri converter before you pick a day. Timetables can shift during Ramadan, the Hajj season and holidays, which is why the official timetable page is worth a second look closer to departure.
Changes and arrival time
The operator’s common questions page, read on 24 October 2026, says tickets are changed or cancelled through the same channel used to buy them. Fees depend on how long before departure you act, and they can change.
| Time before departure | Economy change fee (% of ticket) | Business change fee (% of ticket) |
|---|---|---|
| More than 24 hours | 10 | 0 |
| 24 hours to 20 minutes | 20 | 10 |
| Under 20 minutes | No changes | No changes |
Cancellation percentages sit on the same site and in the operator’s passenger charter, and the layout of the charter excerpt I could read was unclear, so check the live page rather than a summary. The same page says that if the operator cancels a trip, the passenger receives compensation equal to 25% of the original ticket value.
Advice on arrival time differs by source: the national tourism site says at least 30 minutes before departure, while one booking site says at least 60 minutes. Follow whatever your own ticket says, and keep the passport and e-ticket where you can reach them.
Luggage: the 25 kg rule
The operator’s luggage conditions allow one large bag of up to 25 kg (25,000 g) and up to 65 × 55 × 35 cm, plus one extra hand item such as a rucksack, laptop bag, camera bag, woman’s bag or nursery bag. The same document says excess over these limits isn’t allowed on the train. One guide adds that the dimensions apply to the packed bag including wheels and handles.
Business class doesn’t raise the allowance, per the operator’s policy as summarised by a travel site. No official page I read gives a weight limit for the hand item; third-party guides quote 5 kg or 7 kg, so those figures are unconfirmed. Ask the operator if your hand item is heavy.
Pilgrims flying in from North America often carry two checked bags each, and a guide on this exact problem notes it catches many of them. One travel site reports that staff send oversized bags to a postal desk at the station for separate delivery at a fee, but that isn’t on the operator pages I read. If you can, split your things before the train: leave bulky items with your package hotel or send them on by road.
Zamzam water and the train
The operator’s baggage page doesn’t mention Zamzam cartons, according to one guide that checked, so ask before you travel. Water is heavy: 1 litre weighs about 1 kg, so a 5 litre container uses a fifth of the 25 kg allowance. Airline rules for Zamzam are a separate question, and your airline’s own page is the place to read them.
Ihram when you ride from Madinah to Makkah
A summary of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s Umrah guide gives the miqat for pilgrims travelling from Madinah as Dhul Hulayfah (Abyar Ali). Distances from Masjid an-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet ﷺ) are given as about 10 km in one source and about 14 km in another. The train passes it without stopping, so there’s no platform at which to change clothes.
Traveller reports and third-party guides suggest wearing the ihram garments before boarding, at the hotel or the station, and making the intention when the miqat is reached. One guide says a recorded announcement is made onboard. Reports of when it comes range from about 3 to about 10 minutes after leaving Madinah station, and none of the official pages I read promise it. Plan with your own watch and a travelling companion rather than relying on it, and ask your group leader how they handle it.
Entering ihram itself, the clothing and the prohibitions are covered in the ihram guide on this site, and the rites that follow in the Umrah step-by-step guide. Where the schools differ is on what happens if the miqat is passed without ihram. The table reports what the sources found say.
| School | Passing the miqat without ihram, intending Umrah or Hajj | If the pilgrim goes back to the miqat |
|---|---|---|
| Hanafi | Not permitted for someone from outside the boundaries who means to enter Makkah; a sheep is binding | The sacrifice is omitted if the pilgrim returns and enters ihram there, or returns saying the talbiyah after entering ihram inside the boundary; it isn’t omitted after touching the Black Stone and starting tawaf |
| Maliki | Passing the boundary without ihram is not permitted for one intending a rite | If still far away, the pilgrim returns and nothing is due according to the well-known position; if he drew near Makkah, he doesn’t return, enters ihram, and a sacrifice is binding |
| Shafi’i | Passing it without ihram is not permitted for one who intends a rite | Returning is binding unless time is restricted or the road is dangerous |
| Hanbali | Not covered separately in the sources I read | Not covered here |
The Hanafi and Maliki wordings come from classical passages quoted by Marifah Institute, and the Shafi’i passage was cut off before it reached the penalty. A general guide says the four schools agree that a dam (a sacrifice of a sheep or a share of a larger animal) becomes due if the pilgrim can’t return, but it doesn’t give classical references. A Hanafi fatwa answer also reports that Imam Abu Hanifa held there is no penalty only if the pilgrim says the talbiyah at the miqat.
These are general reports, and cases of real doubt (a delayed train, a missed announcement, an illness) are best put to a qualified scholar before or during the trip. Many pilgrims on a package ask their group’s scholar at the start.
Comparing your options before you book
The train isn’t automatically the best leg for everyone. A few things are worth comparing, using figures you can check yourself.
- Station to hotel distance in km. Measure from the Makkah station (3.5 km from the Haram per the operator) and the Madinah station (about 9 km) to your own hotel, then check what shuttle or taxi runs there.
- Total door-to-door time. Road travel between the cities is quoted at about 5 to 6 hours in several guides, but add transfers on both sides of the train.
- Luggage. With a 25 kg limit and fixed bag dimensions, a family with large suitcases may find a coach or private transfer simpler.
- Change terms. Compare the fee table above with any package terms that include the ticket.
- Wheelchair needs. The operator says each train has 2 special seats with a wheelchair bay, so ask about them when booking.
For health advice before travel, use your own national health authority’s travel pages and the Saudi Ministry of Health’s published requirements rather than a booking guide. Visa and e-visa rules are covered in the visa articles on this site, and they change, so check the official portal before booking.
Checklist for the day of travel
| Item | Limit or detail | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Passport with visa | Same document used to book | In hand item |
| E-ticket and SMS | Named passenger only | Saved offline |
| Main bag | Up to 25 kg and 65 × 55 × 35 cm | Weighed at home |
| Hand item | One rucksack or similar | Medicines and valuables inside |
| Ihram garments (Madinah to Makkah) | Worn before boarding if that’s your plan | Plan agreed with group |
| Arrival at station | 30 or 60 minutes depending on source | Check your ticket |
| Transfer at the other end | 3.5 km (Makkah), about 9 km (Madinah) | Shuttle or taxi chosen |
Rules, fees and timetables change, so check the operator’s pages and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah before you book. For questions about ihram, the miqat or a missed boundary, ask a qualified scholar about your own situation. The downloads page has printable planners if you’d like a paper copy of the checklist.
Sources
- Haramain High Speed Railway: Common questions (baggage, changes, compensation)
- Haramain High Speed Railway: Luggage conditions
- Haramain High Speed Railway: official site, wheelchair seats
- Haramain High Speed Railway: Passenger Charter, edition 4A
- Visit Saudi: Haramain High Speed Railway
- Wikipedia: Haramain High Speed Railway
- Saudi Life Guide: Haramain Train 2026, stations, hours and Umrah tips
- Hisar Tour: Haramain Train Guide
- Almosafer: Haramain Train Baggage Allowance Policy
- Almosafer: How to Book Haramain Train Tickets Online
- Marifah Institute: Passing the miqat without ihram
- IslamQA (Hanafi): Crossing miqat without ihram
- Miqat UK: What is miqat?
This article explains what the four Sunni schools say and links its sources. It is not a fatwa. Entry rules, fees and dates change, so check the official pages before you book, and ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.
Header photo of Haramain high-speed railway: amanderson2, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.