New high-speed trains to be put into service

ANKARA

Türkiye plans to increase the number of high-speed train services in the face of rising demand, Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu has said.

The number of those train services will increase from the current 44 to 56 starting Sept. 10, while passenger capacity will be boosted by 5,200, according to the minister.

Following the new arrangement, the high-speed train operating on the Ankara-Istanbul route will have 24 services, and the number of services between the province of Konya and Istanbul and Konya and Ankara will increase to 10 and 14, respectively.

A high-train service will also be launched between Istanbul and the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir, the minister said.

“High-speed trains presently serve some 20,000 passengers a day. Once the number of services is increased, the passenger capacity will rise by 31 percent to more than 25,000 people,” he added.

As part of the work under the 2053 Transport and Logistics Master Plan, the number of provinces connected to the high-speed train network will increase from eight to 52, Karaismailoğlu also said.

Both cargo and passenger capacity will be boosted, and the share of railways in investments will be increased, the minister noted.

The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) network currently spans a total of 13,022 kilometers (8,000 miles) in line length, up from 12,608 kilometers (7,800 miles) in 2017.