Super fast train sets route at 80 minutes

ANKARA

A super-fast train, which is in the pipeline, to run between Ankara and Istanbul will shorten the trip from around four hours to just 80 minutes.

The Ankara-Istanbul super-fast train project, which was included in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) election manifesto announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in April, aims to provide express transit between Istanbul and Ankara via a 344-kilometer long line.

The super train is expected to travel at a 350 kilometer per hour speed between Ankara and Sabiha Gökçen Airport and at 200 kilometers per hour speed between Sabiha Gökçen and Söğütlüçeşme. With this speed, the travel time between Ankara and Istanbul, which exceeds 4 hours with the current high-speed train (YHT), will be reduced to 1 hour and 20 minutes. The duration of YHT lines such as Konya, Sivas and Kayseri, which are on the route via Ankara, as well as Istanbul, will therefore also be shortened.

The project will be built on a separate line and serve as an addition to the existing high-speed train system. The Ankara-Istanbul YHT in use will continue to operate.

The super high-speed train will pick up passengers from Ankara Train Station, Sincan, Sabiha Gökçen Airport and Söğütlüçeşme stations.

There will be 19 viaducts with a length of 14 kilometers and 52 tunnels with a length of 120 kilometers on the super high-speed train line. The project, which will be realized through a public-private partnership (KÖİ), is expected to start after the 2024 local elections and be completed in five years.