Turkey's 70-year dream Ankara-Istanbul YHT line opens 25 July: The Istanbul and Ankara imagined 70 years for connecting fast train, the first ceremony hour to reality dönüşecek- Opening the opening will be held on July 25 by Prime Minister Erdogan, the Ankara-Istanbul YHT line It will be held at Eskişehir Train Station at 14.30. The official opening of the line will be held with a ceremony at Pendik Station at 18.30 - Flexible pricing will be applied on the Ankara-Istanbul YHT line. The ticket prices expected to be announced by Prime Minister Erdogan will be cheaper on certain days and hours after the line is put into service - Travel by high-speed train will be free to the holders of the Medal of Independence, war invalids, veterans who are injured or injured in the fight against terrorism and the disabled - Travel time between Ankara and Istanbul in the first place After 3,5 hours, it will decrease to 3 hours in the short term and an average of 7,5 million passengers will be served annually.
The 70-year dream of connecting Ankara and Istanbul with high-speed train will come true with the opening of the Ankara-Istanbul High Speed Train line, which will be held by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 25.
It was not so easy to connect Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and Ankara, the capital of the Republic, with a high-speed train line. The beginning of the work on the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway project was based on the Arifiye-Sincan Sürat Railway Line Project, although the concrete steps in the project could only be taken in the early 1940s. With the Ankara-Istanbul Speed Railway Project, which was included in the investment program in 1970, the high-speed railway project that connects the two cities between Arifiye and Sincan on a shorter route has come to the stage of implementation.
In the project, the route between Arifiye and Sincan was considered as two sections and the construction of the 85-kilometer section, which constitutes the first section, was started in 1977. Construction works intensified in the first years and then started to be interrupted and stopped frequently because the required resources were not transferred. In 1983, the construction activities, which accelerated again upon the definition of the project as a priority investment in the Transport Master Plan, stopped completely with the reason of “causing an increase in inflation” and the decision to direct the resources to the highway and the business was liquidated. Upon understanding that the Sürat Railway Project will not be operational in the short and medium term, TCDD has prepared a rehabilitation project to improve its existing line between Ankara and Istanbul.
From Sürat Railway to Ankara-İstanbul YHT
Ankara-Istanbul High Speed Train Project was first included in the investment program under the name of "Ankara-Istanbul Existing Railway Improvement Project" in 1994. Project; The narrow-radius non-standard curves in the existing line included bringing the standard to 90-120 km / h speed and the construction of the second line in some sections. No allowance was allocated between 1994-1999. In 1999, the State Planning Organization granted TCDD limited credit tender authorization to rehabilitate the existing line between Ankara and Istanbul and to construct the second line.
Esenkent-Eskişehir line was started to be used in order to ensure that the loan amount is limited and durable and used economically and in the most appropriate way.
The tender consisted of the construction of the signaling facilities of Eskişehir-İnönü and X1 / km speed of the Esenkent-Eskişehir section in accordance with the 200 km / h speed. The tender was awarded for 200 September 17. 1999 consortium bid on bid.
As a result of the evaluation; The Esenkent-İnönü segment was awarded to Alsim Alarko-A Group joint venture on 16 October 2000 with a total value of 437 thousand euros.
The foundation was laid in 2003
The foundation of Esenkent-İnönü section was laid on June 8, 2003, and works were started on 10 December 2003 by site delivery. Since the speeds on the high-speed train lines in developed countries on the railway are 250 km / h and above, the rehabilitation of the existing line under operation, the Ankara-Istanbul axis is the main artery in terms of freight and passenger transportation, and the project road design is suitable for 250 km / h and In parallel, it was decided to construct a new double track high speed railway line that is 250 km / h independent of the existing line.
In terms of ensuring the continuity of the project; With the decision of the Council of Ministers dated 5 May 2005, the name of the "Ankara-Istanbul Existing Railway Improvement Project" was changed to "Ankara-Istanbul High Speed Train Project" by taking the scope of the project between Sincan-Esenkent and Eskişehir-İnönü.
The Ankara-Eskişehir YHT line, which is the first phase of the project consisting of 2 stages and 10 separate sections, namely Ankara-Eskişehir and Eskişehir-Istanbul, was built as a double-line and high-standard, independent from the existing line, and suitable for 245 km / h speed. was opened to service.
The construction of Eskişehir-Istanbul, which is the second phase of the Ankara-Eskişehir YHT line, started simultaneously with the Ankara-Eskişehir segment. However, its construction took longer than other high-speed railway lines due to judicial processes, geographical and physical conditions. With the construction size of the line and the fabrications made, a city with almost 500 thousand people was built. In fact, 35 art structures were built, including 26 tunnels, 52 viaducts, 158 bridges, 83 underpasses, 669 overpasses and 1023 culverts. Due to the variability of the floor, many different construction methods were used.
The latest high-speed trains built by the Eskisehir-Istanbul high-speed railway technology, railway construction in Turkey's most difficult geography, despite all the difficulties we had completed testing and certification work. Thus, 70-year dream that has become Turkey's Ankara-Istanbul YHT line ready for opening.
What will it bring?
The high-speed train will reduce the travel time between Ankara and Istanbul to 3,5 hours in the first place and then to 3 hours in the short term. An average of 7,5 million passengers will be served between Ankara and Istanbul. The share of the railway, which is 10 percent in passenger transportation on the route, will increase to 78 percent. With the opening of YHT, the travel time between Ankara and Gebze will decrease to 2 hours and 30 minutes. Travel time to other cities will be shortened by combined transportation. With the line to be integrated with Marmaray, uninterrupted passenger transportation from Asia to Europe will be possible.
The project will not only shorten the travel time between the two cities, but will also add added value to the economy, social and cultural life. The Ankara-Istanbul high-speed rail will not only connect the old and new capitals in a short time, but will also open a new high-speed railway corridor on the modern Silk railway route.
Flexible price to be applied
The high speed train sets to be operated on the Ankara-Istanbul line will be composed of 6 wagons and will have 409 + 2 passenger capacity.
Even flexible price will be made in the app. Ticket prices, which are expected to be announced by Prime Minister Erdogan, will be cheaper on specific days and hours after the line is put into service.
In order to encourage passenger transportation, 26 percent of passengers who are up to 60 years old, teachers, military passengers, groups, passengers 20 years and older, press card holders, passengers aged 65 and 7, Children will be given a 12 percent discount. The high-speed train will be free to Independence Medal holders, war-disabled people, veterans who are injured or injured in the fight against terrorism.
The first ceremony for the opening, which will take place with the participation of 3 thousand guests, will be held on Friday, July 25 at 14.30 at Eskişehir Station. The official opening of the line will be held at 18.30 at Istanbul Pendik Terminal.
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