Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that the Gebze OSB-Darıca Metro Line is the first metro line built entirely as a product of Turkish technology and engineering. Minister Uraloğlu said, “With this feature, it is the best proof that a new era has begun in the construction of metro lines in the Turkish Century. From now on, everything about our metro lines, including the vehicles that will work on them, from the construction phase to the electrification and signaling phase, will be national and local.”
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu examined the Gebze OSB-Darıca Coastal Line train integration test works on site. Minister Uraloğlu made a statement after the examination and said, “As the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, we have implemented very important urban rail system projects to solve the traffic problem of our citizens, especially those living in metropolitan cities.”
Urban Rail System Length to Increase to 634,1 Kilometers
Minister Uraloğlu stated that the length of the urban rail system line completed by the Ministry and offered to citizens throughout the country is 434 kilometers, and continued his words as follows:
“Currently, we are continuing the construction of 73,4 kilometers of urban rail system lines in Kocaeli, Istanbul and Bursa, including the Gebze OSB-Darıca Coastal Line. We are continuing the preparation of projects for 67 separate urban rail system lines with a total length of 4 kilometers in Sakarya and Trabzon, two of which are in Ankara. We are planning the construction of 4 kilometers of new lines in 126,7 provinces, namely Istanbul, Ankara, Samsun and Konya. When we implement our ongoing and planned projects, we will have increased the length of the 434 kilometers of urban rail system that we have constructed throughout the country to date as the Ministry to 634,1 kilometers. In other words, we are talking about a length that will be enough to reach Sinop, Antalya or cross our borders and reach Sofia when you leave Gebze.”
“Transportation Time to Kocaeli City Hospital Dropped to 15 Minutes”
Emphasizing that the Gebze OSB-Darıca Coastal Line Project is one of the three important urban rail system projects implemented in Kocaeli, Uraloğlu said, “As you may recall, we opened our 3-kilometer Kocaeli City Hospital Tram Line last year. We completed the construction of our line in less than a year and a half and quickly put it into the service of our people. Thanks to our line, the transportation time to Kocaeli City Hospital has decreased to 3,1 minutes.”
Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality North HRS Works Continue
Uraloğlu, who reminded that they delivered the land to the contractor for the 1st stage of the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Northern HRS Line, another project, on June 27, 2024, said, “We planned the first stage in a way that it will have an important place in Kocaeli’s strategic transportation network. The line will start from Tüpraş Petkim, pass through Derince district, and then pass through Millet Bahçesi and Seka Park to reach the city center. After reaching the city center, it will stop by Kocaeli Bus Terminal and end at İzmit East Station.”
Uraloğlu, who stated that the station, shaft and depot site settlement studies on the route, interaction studies with existing and planned infrastructure facilities and engineering structures, and infrastructure displacement works are ongoing, said, “Again, the traffic circulation approvals of the areas to be closed due to construction works along the route and the infrastructure project approval processes are also ongoing. On the other hand, we brought the parts and equipment of the TBMs that will carry out the main line tunnel excavations to the field and started the assembly works.”
Minister Uraloğlu noted that in the second phase of the project, they aim to expand the scope of the Northern Light Rail System Line and provide service to wider areas of Kocaeli. Uraloğlu explained that they planned the second phase to provide access to the Atalar location in the Körfez district from one end and to the Kocaeli Fair Center and Cengiz Topel Airport from the other end.
Gebze OSB-Darıca Coastal Line Will Serve 330 Thousand Passengers Daily
Stating that they built the 15,4-kilometer Gebze OSB-Darıca Coastal Line, which is currently under construction, as a double line, Uraloğlu said, “Our line, which has a design speed of 90 kilometers, will be able to serve 11 thousand passengers per day with its 330 stations. It will connect the densely populated areas between the Gebze Organized Industrial Zone and the Darıca Coast with the comfort of a metro.”
Uraloğlu stated that it will be possible to access the Marmaray Line from the Gar Station and the Sabiha Gökçen Airport from the Adliye Station with a metro line to be built in the future, and included the following statements in his statement:
“We are also building a 1-set capacity warehouse and maintenance area on an area of approximately 113 thousand square meters, approximately 17 kilometer north of the OSB Station. Hopefully, we will complete all the work on our line in the second half of 2026 and put it into service. With the completion of the line, the economic gain in the 25-year projection will be approximately over 2 billion 734 million Euros with factors such as highway operation and maintenance gain, external benefits such as air pollution and time gain. When we consider this gain, it becomes clear how important this project is for Kocaeli and our country.”
86 Percent Progress Achieved in the Project
Minister Uraloğlu, who stated that the overall progress rate in the project was 86 percent, said, “We have completed the installation of 78 meters of our total rail amount of 922 meters. We are also starting the works of a total of 42 meters of track as soon as possible on Line-14 between Darıca Sahil Portal – Darıca Cumhuriyet Meydanı Station, Line-2 and Line-1 between Stadium – Akse Sapağı Stations, and Line-2 and Line-6 between Mutlukent – Shaft-1.”
When the Line is Completed, Vehicles Will Serve Driverlessly
Uraloğlu, reminding that they held the tender for the 28 vehicles to be used here in 2020, said, “We designed our trains in accordance with modern technology, fully driverless, with a 60 percent local content condition, and we have received all 28 of our vehicles. In fact, these vehicles were produced with a 60 percent local content rate, with many components such as bogie, passenger information, announcement, signaling, lighting, air conditioning units, security camera systems, more than 63 percent.”
Uraloğlu, who stated that when the line in question is completed, the vehicles will provide driverless service with a service speed of 80 kilometers, a passenger capacity of 150 and a length of 88 meters, said, “Again, our localization rate in our systems such as escalators, elevators, fans, ventilation, and fire prevention within the scope of the metro construction is over 80 percent. Now, we have started the integration test studies of these vehicles with the line we have built.”
“Gebze OSB-Darıca Metro Line is a Product of Turkish Technology and Engineering in Every Way”
Emphasizing that the Gebze OSB-Darıca Metro Line is a product of Turkish technique and engineering in every way, Uraloğlu said, “Our Gebze OSB-Darıca Metro Line is our first metro line that was built entirely by our national companies, from the contractor who built it to the vehicles that will work on the line and the signaling system; and is a product of Turkish technique and engineering in every way. With this feature, it is the best proof that a new era has begun in the construction of metro lines in the Turkish Century. From now on, everything about our metro lines, including the vehicles that will work on them, from the construction phase to the electrification and signaling phase, will be national and local.”
Minister Uraloğlu, who gave the good news that they will start production by holding the body welding ceremony of the first domestic and national electric high-speed train set with a speed of 225 kilometers tomorrow at the TÜRASAŞ facilities in Sakarya, said, “We have already produced our domestic and national electric train sets with a speed of 160 kilometers and 3 of our sets are currently transporting passengers between Adapazarı and Gebze. Now we will start producing the ones with a speed of 225 kilometers.”
Uraloğlu, who said that the domestic metro vehicles on the Gebze OSB-Darıca Coastal Line, the domestic electric train sets on the main lines and the domestic and national electrification and signaling systems used on the Gayrettepe-İstanbul Airport Metro Line are very valuable gains, said, “As you know, the more domestic production, the more independent and powerful a country becomes. Have no doubt that we will shape Turkey’s future vision by closely following technology and always placing integration at the center.”
