Burdur Antalya railway - Hundred years longing is over? : The dream of Antalya, which has a very important place for Turkish tourism today, to reach the railway since 1892 seems to be finally realized. The railways, which were seen as a symbol of independence in Atatürk's period, were stopped with the conditional assistance of the United States and highways were given priority. Railways are so neglected that in the 1950-1980 period, only 30 kilometers of railroads could be built annually. In railway transportation, where high-speed train works have gained speed in recent years; The issue of transporting the railway network, which was brought and left to Burdur in 1935, to Antalya Bay, is still on the agenda these days.
ATATÜRK'S HERO
During his visit to Antalya in March 1930, Atatürk personally determined this requirement in Antalya and gave the good news to the people of Antalya that the railway will be brought to Antalya as soon as possible. Upon this, the Grand National Assembly started its work and a law was passed for the construction of the Afyon-Antalya Railway. Thousands of people from Antalya gathered in the Government Square on January 5, 1933, and celebrate with great enthusiasm the decision of the parliament to build the Afyon-Antalya railway line. In fact, on February 11, 1935, the staff of Austrian engineers Beziç, Schitehelm and Davit were sent to Antalya to work in the construction of the Afyon-Antalya line railway. The good news that Antalya will get the train [train] is given on 10 July 1935. Although Muharrem Önal, one of the prominent figures of the era, wrote his thoughts on this subject in the 11 July 1935 issue of the Official Antalya Gazette, saying, "We Hear the Whistle of Simendifer ...", Marshal Fevzi Çakmak blocked this attempt for security reasons.
SURVEYED IN 1980
In 1980, the Ministry of Transport initiated the project studies of the Burdur Antalya railway line by tendering the survey, project and engineering services work. While the project studies were continuing, the feasibility study of the line was commissioned by the Middle East Technical University by the same ministry, but as a result of the study it was concluded that the line was not 'feasible', the project was abandoned and the railway construction to Antalya was excluded from the investment program in 1981. Again, a study was initiated in 1984 with the view that it would contribute to the better utilization of the agricultural and tourism potential of the Antalya region and would create benefits for the country's economy. A comparison of the Burdur-Antalya and Isparta-Antalya lines was made to METU in terms of feasibility, and the opinion was taken that "both lines were not feasible, but the Burdur-Antalya line was more suitable than the Isparta-Antalya line." With a new initiative in 1995, the Ministry of Transport had updated the feasibility studies of the railway lines designed between Burdur-Antalya and Isparta-Antalya within the framework of a protocol signed with METU. However, no positive results came from these feasibility studies; It was decided that the lines were not economically and financially viable. In the project evaluation part of the feasibility study report; It was claimed that the revenues to be obtained after the completion of the project would not meet the construction and operating costs.
WHY IMPORTANT?
Antalya, which we define with the words of the capital of tourism and a world city, should reach the railway as soon as possible. As we have seen in Turkey today, freight and passenger transport shows a large increase every year. Construction of a railway to this city, which is a pioneer in fresh fruit and vegetable and cut flowers, will significantly increase the export of vegetables and fruits in the region. The railroad must meet with Antalya. Thus, the railway to be built will trigger domestic tourism and at the same time, Antalya will get its deserved share of income from trade and agricultural products. Road transport with trucks and buses no longer seems to be able to absorb this burden. If the high-speed train project reaches the Western Mediterranean region, a very important step will be made in Turkish tourism and export of agricultural products. Connecting Antalya to the inner regions of our country by rail with new technology will rapidly increase productivity in multiple sectors. Which provides 65 percent of Turkey's Antalya fruits and vegetables today, but their products by road or ferry passing trucks Tekirdag From coast to Italy, European states can deliver the vegetables. Because the producers from Antalya have no alternative other than carrying their products by trucks, which remain very primitive in today's conditions. This situation is the same in domestic tourism. A person who comes to Antalya for a tour will definitely prefer this if there is a high-speed train.
REVISED AGAIN
It was written that recently, in Sabah Akdeniz, action was taken again to bring the Antalya high-speed train project to life, and construction will begin in 2016. Mr. Sadık Badak, a member of ANSİAD and a member of the AK Party, made the greatest effort to build a railway in Antalya in the last ten years. It cannot be denied that Mr. Badak kept our longing for the railway constantly on the agenda and made a great contribution to the decision to build a railway in Antalya today. There is no alternative market unless Antalya farmer can get the means to deliver his goods to European wholesale markets in 24-48 hours with refrigerated wagons. The arrival of the tourist coming to Antalya to Konya-Ankara-Istanbul on 2-4-day tours by high-speed train will create a customer diversity in Turkish tourism. We, the people of Antalya, look forward to the realization of the railway project that you have longed for almost a century.
INITIATIVES STARTED IN THE OTTOMAN PERIOD
In fact, it is seen that the attempts to construct a railway to Antalya started in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. For example, in the document dated September 8, 1892, the petition of Baron De Sfelter, the deputy of the American Corci Earl Cerh, who asked for permission for the discovery of the railway route from Antalya to Sivas, and the document dated August 17, 1913 about the construction of a commercial port with the railway line Correspondence with Umur-u İktisadiye ve Sanaiye Anonim Şirketi takes place. In the document dated May 24, 1919, it is seen that during the occupation of Antalya, the Italians started the construction of the Şimendifer line between Finike and Antalya-Burdur without permission from the government. However, when the occupation ended on July 5, 1921, this attempt failed. On June 29, 1927, the Ministry of Nafia was authorized to negotiate with the company that wanted to build the Burdur-Baladız-Dinar-Sandıklı part of the railway, which was planned to be built between Afyon and Antalya. When it comes to June 27, 1928, it is decided by the government to make correspondence to Bruder Redlich Company for the construction of the Afyon-Antalya railway. But there is no result.
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