Uraloğlu, in his written statement, reported that the Fast Rail System (HST) service, which started operating on the Ankara-Eskişehir line in March 2009, currently serves passengers in 11 provinces.
Uraloğlu emphasized that significant advancements have been made in railways over the past 22 years and highlighted that Turkey is the 8th country in the world to have high-speed trains.
Minister Uraloğlu emphasized that they have connected every corner of Turkey with high-speed train lines and stated:
“Investments of 57 billion dollars have been made in railways over the past 22 years. Especially with our high-speed train infrastructure, Turkey has one of the best railway infrastructures in the world. Eskişehir was the first city in our country to meet the first HST on March 13, 2009, with the Eskişehir-Ankara line. HST operations, which started between Ankara and Eskişehir, continue on the Ankara-Istanbul, Ankara-Konya, Konya-Eskişehir, Istanbul-Konya, Konya-Karaman routes, and of course, on the Ankara-Sivas-Ankara route that we put into service last year. Currently, our high-speed train lines provide direct service to 11 cities and indirectly serve 9 cities through regional and bus connections, reaching 35% of our country’s population directly and 54% of it indirectly.”
“We reduced travel time to 1 hour 25 minutes” Uraloğlu stated that high-speed train lines are preferred by citizens not only for their speed but also for their comfort, saying, “Our high-speed train lines offer comfortable and fast transportation to the cities they directly serve. Combined transportation is provided to Bursa, Antalya, Manavgat, Alanya, Adana, and Mersin via bus connections.”
Uraloğlu emphasized that the Ankara-Eskişehir line is the “apple of Turkey’s eye” due to being the first HST in service and continued as follows:
“When it was put into service, it took about 4 hours by road between Ankara and Eskişehir. We reduced this travel time to 1 hour 25 minutes. Currently, we operate 4 round trips daily between Ankara and Eskişehir on a 2+2 basis. Also, Ankara-Istanbul HSTs serve on this line. Since the opening of the Ankara-Eskişehir line, 20,419,448 passengers have been transported until April 5, 2024. The number of passengers transported last year alone reached 641,657. In 2023, each Ankara-Eskişehir HST carried an average of 1,758 passengers. By 2024, until April 5, the total number of passengers reached 78,575, and each Ankara-Eskişehir HST carried an average of 1,455 passengers. These figures are evidence of how right of an investment we have made for the comfort of our citizens.”
“Our citizens are satisfied with this comfort and speed” Uraloğlu emphasized that HSTs, which stand out with their fast, comfortable, and reliable service, almost depart fully loaded on every trip, stating:
“Every day, approximately 35-40 thousand people travel with HST comfort. Even combined transportation with HST plus bus or HST plus train connections provides significant time savings. Therefore, HST lines are highly preferred. Our citizens are satisfied with this comfort and speed. Because traveling with HST lines has become faster and more comfortable than traveling within the city.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç