Children aged 4-11 pay half fare. The main railway line is the Riyadh-Dammam line, which is via Dhahran, Abqaiq, Hofuf, Harad and Al Kharj. There is a daily service in air-conditioned trains with dining car. An additional line links Riyadh with Hofuf. The railway on the west coast made famous by Lawrence of Arabia's raid has long since been abandoned to the desert.
Traffic drives on the right.
The corniche that winds down the escarpment between Taif and Mecca is as spectacular a feat of engineering as may be seen anywhere, as is the King Fahed Gateway that links Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. However, standards of driving are erratic, particularly in the Eastern Province, where it is not unknown for lorry drivers to equip their vehicles with hub-knives similar to those seen in the film Ben Hur . Criteria for apportioning blame after traffic accidents are also erratic and many driving offences carry an automatic prison sentence. As foreigners are tolerated rather than welcomed in Saudi Arabia, it is best to drive with extreme caution at all times. Women are not allowed to drive vehicles or ride bicycles on public roads.