First train that connects center to Istanbul Airport put on rails

ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency

The first train set at Gayrettepe-Airport subway line, which will connect Istanbul Airport to the city center, was completed and put on the rails for test-drives that will start at the end of September.

“We finished the production of the first train that will take the commuters to the airport from the city center in just half an hour,” said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu.

In all metro lines in Istanbul, the top speed of the subways is 80 kilometers per hour, but this one will be able to run up to 120 kilometers per hour, according to the statement.

Gayrettepe-Airport subway line that consists of nine stations will be some 37.5 kilometers long, said the minister, adding that “construction works are taking place in three shifts 24/7 for the giant pro-ject.”

The first train was put on rails between Göktürk and Kağıthane stations and 10 more trainsets will be produced by the end of this year, according to the statement.

“For the first time in a metro project in Turkey, 10 drilling machines have been used at the same time,” said the minister, noting that “when it will be finished, we’ll transfer 600,000 residents daily from the center to the airport just in 35 minutes.”

The minister also stressed the importance of local production.

“The subway line will not only tie the center to the airport but will increase our capacity for train set production with indigenous sources,” said the minister.

“Istanbul is a distinguished global city of the country and we will make it even stronger with this subway line,” the minister concluded his statement.