Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway

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Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway
YHT at Ankara.JPG
A westbound train waiting to depart Ankara Central Station
Overview
Type High-speed rail
System Turkish State Railways
Status Operational
Locale Central Anatolia
Termini Ankara
Pendik, Istanbul
Istanbul Haydarpaşa Terminal Future
Stations 10
12 Future
Operation
Opened 13 March 2009 (Ankara-Eskişehir)
25 July 2014 (Eskişehir-Istanbul)
Owner Turkish State Railways
Operator(s) Turkish State Railways
Depot(s) Güvercinlik Yard
New Ispartakule Yard Future
Rolling stock HT65000
Technical
Line length 533 km (331.19 mi)[1]
No. of tracks Double track
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius 3 500 m
Electrification 25 kV, 50 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed 250 km/h (160 mph)[1]
Maximum incline 16

The Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway (Turkish: Ankara–İstanbul yüksek hızlı demiryolu), is a 533 km (331 mi) long high-speed railway currently running between Ankara and Pendik (a suburb of Istanbul), with the Pendik-Central İstanbul part under construction.

History

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The planned Turkish high-speed rail network.

Construction on the route is taking place in two phases. The first phase is a 251 kilometres (156 mi), $747 million route between Sincan (a district of Ankara) and İnönü, for which construction began in 2003 on a segment between Esenkent and Eskisehir; this segment was completed in 2007.[1] Regular service between Ankara and Eskisehir began on 13 March 2009.[2] Two shorter lines complete the first phase: a line between Eskisehir and Inonu began construction in 2008 and was completed in 2010, and a line between Sincan and Esenkent was built in 2008.[1]

The second phase, between İnönü and Pendik, is about 214 kilometres (133 mi) long, and costs $2.27 billion.[1] The substantially higher price of the second phase is due to more challenging terrain than the first, including 33 bridges and 39 tunnels.

The section between Inonu and Pendik (a suburb on the Asian side of Istanbul) was opened by the prime minister on 25 July 2014, with the service between Istanbul (Pendik) and Ankara taking 3.5 hours. The service started with sis departures daily in both directions.[3] The line will continue into central Istanbul when the Marmaray project is completed in 2015.[4] Until the high speed line is fully completed, the high speed trains will use conventional line on some parts of the route (between Sapanca and Alifuatpaşa, . The line is planned to be completed fully in 2016, and the total budget is expected to reach 8.8 billion TL.[5]

Construction is partially financed through foreign sources, including €1.25 billion from the European Investment Bank and €120 million from the European Union.[6]

The China Railway Construction Corporation and the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation won the bid in 2005 to build the railway line in partnership with two Turkish companies, Cengiz Construction and Ibrahim Cecen Ictas Construction. The project was financed in part by a $750 million loan granted to Turkey by China.

Infrastructure

Turkey ordered ten TCDD HT65000 six-car trainsets from CAF, the first one of which arrived in Turkey in 2007.[1][7] They began service operating between Ankara and Eskisehir, expanding operations as additional high-speed trackage was completed.[1]

Alcatel won an $80 million contract to supply signalling services on the line, as well as interlockings and control systems,[1] while Thales Group has been contracted to supply an ETCS train control system for the Sincan—Eskisehir portion of the route.[8]

See also

References

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  3. Uysal, Onur. "New Schedule for Istanbul-Ankara High Speed Train", Rail Turkey, 9 August 2014
  4. Uysal, Onur. "How to Get to High Speed Train in Istanbul?", Rail Turkey, 22 October 2014
  5. Uysal, Onur."5 Billion Needed Annually for High Speed Trains", Rail Turkey, 30 January 2014
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