Studies on Antalya high-speed train lines are completed

Turkey’s tourism city Antalya is soon getting its 100-year-old dream, the high-speed train. The good news was given by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. Minister Uraloğlu answered the parliamentary question of İYİ Party Antalya Deputy Aykut Kaya regarding the “highway and railway projects” in his province.

UNINTERRUPTED TRANSPORTATION TO ALANYA

In order to provide uninterrupted transportation from the north of Antalya to the Alanya district; Minister Uraloğlu underlined that the 12-kilometer section of Antalya Northern Ring Road and the following state road will be made three-lane and its intersections are at different levels, and said, “It has been integrated with the highway route in Serik district. “Preliminary highway project work has started between Konaklı and Gazipaşa, which is the continuation of this project route,” he said.

In order to connect Antalya to the high speed railway network; Stating that high-speed train railway projects are planned in accordance with the 200 km/h design speed in the 425-kilometer Eskişehir-Kütahya- Afyonkarahisar-Isparta/Burdur- Antalya and 541-kilometer Kayseri-Aksaray-Konya- Seydişehir-Antalya sections, Minister Uraloğlu said, “Study projects are planned in all sections.” “The work has been completed,” he said.

The idea and project of providing railway transportation to Antalya, which has always been on the agenda since the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, could not be realized for nearly 100 years. To implement the project, a law was passed and funds were allocated in 1933, the 10th anniversary of the Republic. Within the scope of the law accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on April 1, 1933, 25 million lira was allocated for the construction of the 324-kilometer Afyonkarahisar-Antalya Railway Line, and the project was planned to be completed within 4 years.

IT WILL CONNECT 4 PROVINCES TO EACH OTHER

While the part of the project up to Burdur was completed, the Antalya line was left unfinished due to lack of funds and the outbreak of World War II. The new high-speed train line, which will connect Antalya to Eskişehir, heralded by Minister Uraloğlu, will also be a part of the high-speed train lines connected to Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, which are under construction. With the completion of the project, it will be possible to reach Antalya from Istanbul by high-speed train in 4 hours and 45 minutes.

BAŞKENTRAY SERVED 89 MILLION PASSENGERS IN 6 YEARS

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that the people of Ankara loved the comfort of Başkentray, which started to serve on April 12, 2018, and gave the information that “60 thousand passengers use Başkentray every day.” In his written statement on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of Başkentray being put into service, Uraloğlu stated that Başkentray, one of the important parts of Ankara’s urban transportation, has served 89 million passengers to date. Emphasizing that they have been working non-stop for Ankara in the last 22 years, Uraloğlu said, “We extended Ankara’s 23.1 kilometer rail system line by 80.5 kilometers and increased it to 103.6 kilometers. We invested 601 billion 510 million liras in transportation and communication infrastructure.” Uraloğlu pointed out that the traffic on Başkentray and Eskişehir and Istanbul roads has decreased significantly.