Highest capacity metro line

The highest capacity metro line is the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Line in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This relatively short line covers 18.1 km (11.2 mi) and has nine stops that extend from Mina on the eastern side of the city out to the Plain of Arafat. The line, which opened on 13 Nov 2010, supports the operation of 12-car trains, each capable of holding around 3,000 people, at a frequency of 24 trains per hour (one every 2 min 30 sec), giving a route capacity of 72,000 passengers per hour, per direction.

The circumstances under which the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Line operate are very different to any other urban metro system. The line was constructed specifically to transport Muslim pilgrims during the Hajj, which means that it only runs for around 10 days in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic calendar (which is a lunar calendar with a year that is 354 or 355 days long).

During the Hajj, the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Line shuttles pilgrims between three key pilgrimage sites: Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat. The line's massive capacity meant that it replaced an estimated 50,000 buses and coaches, which used to clog the roads around the city.

The line was built by the China Railway Construction Corporation and its operation is overseen by Deutsche Bahn. The rolling stock was made by Changchun Railway Vehicles, which makes the rolling stock for the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou railways.