Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the Çerkezköy-Kapıkule railway section, part of the high-speed line between Istanbul and the Bulgarian border. After cutting the ribbon, he personally drove the first train from Babaeski to Edirne.
The line is designed for both passenger and freight transport. According to Erdogan, with its commissioning, the travel time on the Istanbul-Kapıkule route will be reduced from 4.5 to 1.5 hours for passenger trains.
“This line will be a vital artery connecting Anatolian production with European markets“, Erdogan said at the ceremony.The Turkish president pointed out that the annual passenger transport capacity will increase from 600,000 to 3 million people. For freight, the increase is from 1.5 million to 9.5 million tons per year.
The project was built with Turkish and European funding
The construction of the railway line began in 2019 with joint funding from Turkey and the European Union. The ceremony was attended by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, whom Erdogan thanked for her participation.
„Today we are opening a very important investment. "This is one of our projects that will add a new vision to our country," the Turkish president said.
With the launch of the section, the number of cities in Turkey served directly by high-speed trains increases from 11 to 14. According to Erdogan, the project will strengthen the transport connection with Europe and support trade and tourism in Thrace.
More tracks and renovated stations
In the Kapıkule station area, the number of tracks will be increased from 23 to 42, and their total length will increase from 15,675 to 51,000 meters.
The project includes new station buildings in Babaeski, Lüleburgaz and Büyükarşehir. The buildings of the stations in Kapıkule and Edirne, the freight station and the locomotive maintenance workshop are also being renovated.
At the opening, Bulgaria was represented by the Ambassador in Ankara Angel Cholakov, the Consul General in Edirne Radoslava Kafedzhiyska and the Consul Petar Arabadzhiev.
Sources: bta.bg