Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
New Ankara-Izmir high-speed railway will be commissioned in Turkey in late 2019, a source in the country’s Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications told Trend.
Construction of Ankara-Izmir high-speed railway began in 2012, and its length is 624 kilometers.
“Ankara-Izmir high-speed railway will pass through Afyonkarahisar, Usak and Manisa provinces,” the source noted. “The project cost is 4.9 billion liras ($1.37 billion as of Oct. 5).”
Currently, the length of high-speed railways is 1,213 kilometers and the work is underway on the construction of 4,000 kilometers. Along with this, research work is also carried out for the construction of additional 5,000 kilometers.
“The length of high-speed railway lines will be brought up to 10,000 kilometers in the country until 2023,” said the source previously.
Meanwhile, as part of the Hedef 2023 (Vision 2023) plan of the Turkish government, it is envisaged to reconstruct the obsolete railway lines.
The first railway was built in Turkey’s Izmir province in 1860. Its length was 357 kilometers.
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