Majestic project for connecting the Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca is called the Haramain. It consists of a new 453-kilometre high-speed railway infrastructure that runs through the King Abdullah city in Rabigh, King Abdulaziz International Airport and Jeddah city centre. Overall, five extra large and modern stations in the Saudi Arabia coastal desertic regions. The Haramain was inaugurated in 2018 and will initially host about 60 million pilgrims, on board the cutting-edge electric trains travelling at a speed of 300 kilometres per hour.

The area covered by the five stations of the western railway line Mecca-Medina –  designed by Foster & Partners and Buro Happold in collaboration with architect Dar Al Riyadh – is more than thirty times the size of London Trafalgar Square. Each station is distinguished by an Islamic-inspired architecture, with a sequence of 25-meter-high arches rising from the atrium and enhanced by smaller arches connected into a vaulted roof. Advanced high energy efficiency systems modulate natural light and control misting devices and large fans to keep the platforms cool: lighting varies according to the time slots of the day, through a solar regulator and photocell sensors. On night mode, various reflectors that simulate a starry sky are activated, with spherical chandeliers blending in the modular structures geometric design.

Stations are conceived not only as access points of the respective cities but also as centres of recreational and commercial activities, refreshment points and places to shelter from the sun under arched roofs, offering relief from the desert climate.

To offer very well and comfortable climatic split-up from the external environment, HVAC technology has been used, of which our company is one of the global leaders. Airtècnics has produced and supplied air curtains for four stations of the Mecca-Medina high-speed railway line. A 121 air curtains installation in total, some of which are custom designed. On the gates connected with the exterior of the Medina’s structure are placed forty recessed Windbox G1500A air curtains, with invisible mounting into the false ceiling. In this way, all the advantages of conditioning and air treatment have been made available without interfering in any way with the aesthetics of the place. At the entrances of another of the stations, 52 Windbox G1500A air curtains have been installed, making the discharge outlet the only visible par. For the King Abdulaziz International Airport, 16 tailor-made Windbox G air curtains have designed and supplied, 2.25 meters long with only ventilation mode. Inside the access gates of the last station, 12 KG1500A air curtains and a KG2000A air curtain have applied, choosing that type – instead of the G1500A model – due to the grid's shape and its smaller size.

With the provision of most advanced air curtains in the ambitious project of the Mecca-Medina high-speed railway line – the total value is 9.4 billion dollars – Airtècnics validates itself as a top-level company in the HVAC industrial sector, to guarantee cutting-edge technological solutions to infrastructures exposed to adverse meteorological conditions and give comfort to the millions of travellers who will use them.

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