TufTex fire retardant polyester fabric used for the Saudi project

DuctSox MENA, which claims to be the only company in the Middle East offering air dispersion in speciality environments, has announced that it was selected for reportedly one of the largest projects in the world of construction – the ventilation of The Al Mashair Railway stations in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Each of the Al Mashair trains can transport as many as 72,000 Hajj pilgrims per hour to the Holy Sites at Mina, Muzdalifah, Jamarat and Arafat, DuctSox added.

The company gave the following details of the project and the solutions it came up with: It was faced with a challenge of providing a constant and efficient air supply to ensure ventilation throughout and maintain good air quality in the waiting, boarding and alighting areas of the train stations. In addition to this, the tent required an extremely lightweight duct system with the least possible number of branches to avoid the pressure increase on the construction. For this project ducts of 5,000 linear metres in length were manufactured and covered with the non-porous TufTex fabric made from fire retardant polyester. The installed ducts were customised to serve in the semi-outdoor area for at least six hours a day under direct sunlight exposure. DuctSox MENA said that it was able to meet the requirements and complete the task in 40 days.

According to the company, the fabric air diffusion system covered the complete area efficiently, and the openings located across the textile duct provided the required air flow percentage, complete control over the air throw and the angles of air supply. DuctSox claimed that because of this, the duct was manufactured with zero branches resulting in an effective air supply system 40 times lighter than a conventional galvanised duct.

The Al Mashair train stations will also be operating during Umrah and Ramadan and the train will be used to move millions of Muslim pilgrims throughout the year.