Rail freight transport line to Europe ready

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

The project will be kicked off with a ceremony to take place on Sept 8. DHA photo

Turkey is preparing to a combined railway project to transport goods from Anatolia to Europe with a ceremony to take place on Sept. 8.

The Great Anatolian Logistics Organization (BALO) project, which has been realized with the contribution of leading local business organizations, aims to facilitate trade to and from Europe as well as reduce freight transportation costs.

According to the scheme, the container freights of Anatolian exporters will be picked up from their doors and collected at logistics centers of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), to be brought to Bandırma port in the northwest with block trains.

The load will travel to the northwestern province of Tekirdağ with container ships, from where they will depart for European harbors. Imported goods coming from Europe will be carried through the same route, the TCDD said in a written statement.

Private sector support

The TCDD has collaborated with commercial and industrial chambers, commercial stock markets and industrial zones in Anatolian cities, in order to link industrial regions with the main railway route.

The block trains, which are the core of this combined transportation model, have witnessed a raise in both their freight transportation amount and income recently.

The first container train of the BALO project will hit the tracks after a farewell ceremony in the Aegean city of Manisa on Sept. 8, attended by the Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, Union of Chambers and Bourses Chairman Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, and TCDD General Director Süleyman Karaman.