By Ayse Bocuoglu Bodur
Türkiye aims to become the “heart” of railroad transportation worldwide, as the country will receive a share of $75 billion in transportation volume by connecting Asia and Europe, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu told Anadolu.
“We are working to improve our high-speed train (YHT), very high-speed train and conventional routes and planning to expand them until 2053,” said Uraloglu.
The minister noted that 8,554 kilometers of railroad will be built for the Turkish high-speed railway network.
“The history of Turkish railways began with the first line in 1856, the 130-kilometer Izmir-Aydin line in southwestern Türkiye, and now the nation’s railway network spans across 14,000 kilometers,” the minister said.
In order to prioritize railways and ensure the integration of all modes of travel infrastructures, Uraloglu said the number of ports, industrial facilities, and logistic centers on the railway network, as well as the international railway corridors, will be increased.
He added that the urban transportation infrastructure will benefit from contributions made to the nation’s railway network.
“We will implement railways projects via a safe, comfortable, integrated, disaster-resistant, environmentally-friendly, and accessible system, providing railway connections to freight centers in organized industrial zoned, ports, and mines, as we’ve already increased the average commercial speed in rail freight transportation by 28% this year, aiming to boost it 38% in 2028” he said.
- Railways as priority sector
Uraloglu said the railway sector has always been a strategic priority for Türkiye’s international freight and passenger transportation sector, since 2003.
“We ensured the connection of our railway lines to logistics centers, airports, and ports, as we understand the need for combined transportation. We aimed to make railway transportation contribute to not only the east to the west line, but also between the northern and southern coasts,” he said.
The minister said 286 transmission lines spanning 439 kilometers on the railway network transport 45% of all rail freight in the country, with the nation aiming to complete the construction of all railway transmission lines by 2026, increasing the total to 654 kilometers.
The railway network in Türkiye continues to serve people with the high-speed train (YHT) network, which stretches from the Turkish capital of Ankara and Istanbul to many other provinces, significantly shortening intercity travel time and providing combined transportation with bus transfers, he added.
Uraloglu said in the last 22 years, the nation has achieved new momentum in railway system production by uniting three railway companies into one, the Turkish Railway Vehicles Industry Inc. (Turasas), the largest rail system vehicle maker in the Middle East.
“We domestically produce main, critical, and sub-products, such as new generation locomotives, diesel and electric-powered train sets, passenger cars, freight wagons, traction converters and motors, diesel engines, and train control management systems meeting international standards,” the minister noted.
- World’s top 10th high-speed train operator
Uraloglu said Türkiye has become the world’s 10th largest high-speed train operator, having built over 2,200 kilometers of high-speed train lines.
While more projects are underway, the most important one is known as the “Great Istanbul Tunnel.”
“The third and the longest tunnel to pass under the Bosphorus strait, the Great Istanbul Tunnel will connect 11 different rail system lines to be used by 6.5 million people per day,” he said.
The ministry plans to complete 25% of the project by next year and the entire project in 2028.
Meanwhile, the Ankara-Istanbul “Super High-Speed” Train project, spanning 608 kilometers, will be complete in 2034.
Other lines connecting the Turkish capital to key cities along the Mediterranean coast will allow travelers to travel from one location to another in three to three and a half hours, the minister said.
At the same time, efforts to construct an uninterrupted railway network for the Development Road project continue, with the goal of having a freight railway spanning from the southeastern city of Sirnak to the northwestern city of Edirne in Thrace.
While 439 kilometers of the line are operational, approximately 928 kilometers are still under construction, and 727 kilometers are still in the contracting stage.
*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul