The freight wagons of the Ferry Line, which was put into operation between Bandırma and Tekirdağ ports by TCDD Taşımacılık, were sent off on their first voyage with a ceremony from Çelebi Bandırma Port.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Osman Boyraz, Balıkesir Governor İsmail Ustaoğlu, TCDD Transportation Deputy General Manager Dr. Şinasi Kazancıoğlu and Negmar Chief Executive Officer Mehmet Koç attended the ceremony.
“Marmara is Transforming into a Strategic Logistics Corridor”
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Osman Boyraz, in his speech at the ceremony, stated that the project represents not only two ports but also a strong connection between Asia and Europe, and said, “By combining the environmentally friendly, safe and economical structure of the railway with maritime transport, we are transforming the Marmara Sea into a strategic logistics corridor. This line is of vital importance in the event of a temporary outage of Marmaray.”
Boyraz also emphasized that the train ferry line will increase the efficiency of the Middle Corridor and international trade, and emphasized the importance of all stakeholders embracing this project in line with Türkiye's 2053 vision.
Boyraz stated that serious investment, improvement, renewal and development efforts were made in the railways in our country between 2002 and 2025 and continued his words as follows:
“As the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we have taken up railways as a state policy since 2002 and determined them as a priority sector. With the mega projects we have implemented one by one, we have transformed Türkiye into an important and indispensable junction point on the world logistics map. As of 2002, we have added approximately 11 thousand kilometers, 2023 thousand 2 kilometers of which are YHT and high-speed train lines, to our railway length of approximately 250 thousand kilometers in 3. We have increased the length of our railway network to 13.919 km. We have made approximately 8.046 percent of our lines, 60 kilometers, signaled and more than half of them, 7.274 kilometers, electrified. We have introduced our country to the High Speed Train operation, which has been our dream for half a century. When we put the Ankara-Eskişehir high-speed train line, which first started service in 2009, into operation, we have made Turkey the 8th country in the world and the XNUMXth country in Europe that operates high-speed trains.”
Emphasizing that they are building not only today but also the Turkey of the future in line with the 2053 Transportation and Logistics Master Plan, Boyraz said: “This train ferry line that we are opening today is one of the most concrete steps of this vision. The ferry with a rail length of 800 meters that will start operating today will be able to operate 7/24 and will be able to make multiple trips per day with an average cruising time of four hours. Finally, we see the train ferry line not only as a line connecting two ports, but also as a strategic project that will accelerate regional development, facilitate our exporters’ access to international markets and strengthen our country’s logistics infrastructure. We expect all our stakeholders to embrace this project that will increase the efficiency of not only Türkiye but also the Middle Corridor and international trade, and to support us in walking towards 2053. On this good news day, I would like to thank our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who contributed to the project, and all our institutions, contractors and especially TCDD Taşımacılık, who contributed to the planning and commissioning of this vision project. I thank our employees and hope that it will be beneficial for our country.”
Contribution to the Transportation Vision with the Sustainable Transportation Model
TCDD Transportation Deputy General Manager Dr. Şinasi Kazancıoğlu also drew attention to the fact that the project offers a sustainable transportation model that integrates land, sea and railway, and said, “The modern ferry with a rail capacity of 800 meters will make daily round trips between Bandırma and Tekirdağ. Hazardous materials that cannot be passed through Marmaray, high tonnage and large volume loads and strategic materials belonging to our defense industry can now be transported quickly, safely and uninterruptedly via this line.”
Carrying Capacity of 2,8 Million Tons per Year
Drawing attention to the advantages of the new train ferry line, Kazancıoğlu said, “With an annual carrying capacity of 2 million 800 thousand tons, it will also significantly reduce the load density on Marmaray. It will also support regional development, facilitate exporters’ access to international markets and provide strategic contributions to Türkiye’s logistics infrastructure.”
Kazancıoğlu continued his words as follows: “I would like to thank in your presence the valuable people who have always supported us in the implementation of this visionary project. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr. Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who attaches great importance to railway transportation, and our valuable Deputy Minister, Mr. Osman Boyraz. Likewise, I would like to thank all our engineers, devoted employees, contractor companies and valuable colleagues who contributed to the project.
We believe that this investment will not only meet today’s needs; it will also create a solid foundation for our 2053 and 2071 visions. It will contribute to our country’s growing logistics power and further strengthen Türkiye’s strategic position in international transportation. I hope that our train ferry line will be beneficial to our country, our sector and all our stakeholders; I respectfully greet you all with the hope of meeting again in new projects where we will walk together towards the 2053 goals.”
