President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will inaugurate two important high-speed train lines on September 4, the anniversary of the Sivas Congress, where the foundations of the Republic were laid. The travel time between the two cities will be reduced to 2 hours with the Ankara-Sivas high-speed train line, and the travel time between the two cities will be reduced to 35 minutes with the Konya-Karaman line.
It was learned that the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, acting with President Erdogan’s motto “The road is civilization”, will open the Ankara-Sivas, Konya-Karaman high-speed train lines on Saturday, September 4th.
Within the scope of the opening ceremony where President Erdogan is expected to attend, it was learned that the opening of the Ankara-Sivas high-speed train lines, the foundations of which were laid in 2008, and the Konya-Karaman, the foundations of which were laid in 2012, are planned to be held on the same day.
BETWEEN SIVAS AND ANKARA WILL BE 2 HOURS
With the Ankara-Sivas line, which is planned to be put into service on September 4, the anniversary of the Sivas Congress, the average 4 hours by land and 12 hours by train, the Sivas-Ankara travel time will be reduced to 2 hours.
In the Ankara-Sivas YHT Project with a length of 393 kilometers, the train will be operated at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour, electrically and with signals. There will be 8 stations on the route of YHT, namely Elmadag, Kirikkale, Yerkoy, Yozgat, Sorgun, Akdagmagdeni, Yildizeli and Sivas. A new YHT station is being built in Yozgat as part of the works.
In addition, 49 tunnels, 53 viaducts, 217 under/overpasses, 611 bridges/culverts were built within the scope of the project. 108 million cubic meters of excavation, 29 million cubic meters of filling was done.
KONYA-KARAMAN LINE IS ALSO OPENING
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure will open the 102-kilometer section of the Konya-Karaman line, which was completed within the scope of the 237-kilometer Konya-Karaman-Ulukisla (Nigde) High Speed Train Project, on Saturday, September 4th.
Within the scope of the project, a high-speed train line between Konya, Karaman and Adana with a speed of 200 kilometers/hour will be provided to transfer the cargoes coming from Konya and Ulukisla to Mersin and Iskenderun ports faster. The line capacity, which is 34 double trains per day, will increase 3 times.
The railway connection of Mersin Port and Yenice Logistics Center will be strengthened. Within the scope of the works, infrastructure, superstructure, electrification and station arrangements were completed in the Konya-Karaman section and the line was electrified.
Signaling work has been completed. 74 bridges and culverts, 11 pedestrian underpasses and overpasses were built on the railway. The travel time between the project and Konya-Karaman will be reduced from 1 hour and 15 minutes to 35 minutes.
IN 2023, THE RAILWAY NETWORK WILL INCREASED TO 16 THOUSAND 675 KM
While Turkey is the most important country on the Iron Silk Road from China to Europe, within the scope of the “Railway Reform” announced in 2020, it is aimed to increase the rate of railway investments to 60% and the railway network to 16 thousand 675 kilometers in 2023.
With this reform, which was initiated to produce vehicles to operate on the railways and domestic and national technologies for railway modernization, to expand the line capacity, to provide service-oriented, smart and value-added transportation, it is aimed to equip Turkey with high-speed train networks.
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz