The Hajj train: how the Mashair railway works
The short answer. The Mashair railway is a metro line linking Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, built to move pilgrims between the holy sites during the days of Hajj. You do not buy a ticket for it. Access is arranged through the scheme and the operator you are travelling with, so the only useful question is to your own organiser: is the train part of our arrangements this year, and if not, what is?
What it is
A dedicated railway running between the holy sites that pilgrims move between during the days of Hajj: Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. It exists because those journeys have to happen for everybody within the same few hours, which is the hardest logistical problem of the Hajj.
It is not a public transport line you can turn up and use. It operates during the Hajj days, for pilgrims, as part of the overall movement plan.
Why you cannot simply ask for it
Access is allocated, not sold at a counter. Which pilgrims travel by train, and which move by road, is arranged above the level of an individual booking, through the scheme and the operators.
That means two things for you:
- Do not choose a package on a promise of the train. An organiser who
guarantees it is promising something that is not entirely theirs to give.
- Do ask what your arrangements actually are. A good organiser will tell you
plainly how their group is expected to move, and will say if it depends on the
allocation.
Anything stated here about this year's specific arrangements would be guesswork, and we will not guess about something you would plan around. Ask us or your own organiser for the position in your season.
What matters more than the train
Where your Mina camp sits. Whatever moves you between the sites, a large part of the days of Hajj is walked, and the walk to the Jamarat is the clearest example. A camp near the Jamarat shortens a journey you make more than once, in heat, in crowds.
That is bought at booking, it is within your organiser's control, and it is the line most buyers never ask about. Mina camps during Hajj.
The other thing nobody is warned about
Waiting. Whether the movement is by train or by road, groups travel when the whole group is assembled and when the route is open, not when you are ready. Journeys that look short take hours in season.
Pilgrims who expect this cope. Pilgrims expecting a timetable find it the hardest part of the journey.
Carry water, carry something to sit on, keep medicines on you rather than in the luggage, and plan nothing tightly around a departure time. Hajj transport in Saudi Arabia.
For an older pilgrim
Ask your organiser these, in this order:
- How far is the camp from the Jamarat?
- What is the arrangement for somebody who cannot make that walk?
- How do we move between the sites, and how long are the waits?
- Is there assistance, and from whom?
The answers differ between organisers far more than the brochures suggest. Hajj for elderly pilgrims.
What to ask before you book
- How does your group move between Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah?
- Is the train part of that, and is it confirmed or dependent on allocation?
- Where does the camp sit, and how far is the Jamarat walk?
- What is the realistic waiting time?
The full question list is in what to ask a Hajj agency before booking.
Ask us about your season
Tell us your dates and we will tell you what the movement arrangements are for our groups, plainly, including where they depend on an allocation rather than on us. Our departures are on the Hajj packages page.