New Delhi: "Indian Railways have enormous opportunities to take up mass rapid transit system, sky bus and provision of catering and packaged drinking water to the Haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia," Hassan, Advisor to Indian Railways, said while giving an audio-visual presentation on "The Haj Experience - A First Hand Account" under the aegis of the Institute of Rail Transport in New Delhi.

Talking of various opportunities in Saudi Arabia, he said the Indian Railways could participate in business, technology, transport, communications, medicines through its public sector arms of IRCON, RITES and Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), taking advantage of the current Arab disenchantment against the West.

He said India was rated very high in the Arab world and Indian Railways could take advantage of it. He further said that during the annual Haj Pilgrimage, more than two million people congregate and about eight lakh perform Umra, a ritual similar to the Haj, daily.

Managing such a large congregation was a daunting task, which could afford immense business opportunities for the Indian Railways, he said.