Türkiye’s railway network to surpass 14,000 kilometers in 2025

ANKARA

Türkiye’s railway network is expected to extend beyond 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) next year, with the high-speed rail lines alone anticipated to exceed 2,600 kilometers (1,616 miles), according to the country’s 2025 central government budget proposal.

Railway investments in accordance with the central government budget proposal aim to increase the standards of existing lines and focus on freight transportation, connecting industrial zones, ports, and logistics centers to main lines.

The program allocates 309.6 billion Turkish Liras ($9 billion) for the next year, $10.1 billion in 2026, and $10.9 billion in 2027 for railway construction, operation and services.

The focus of those efforts is to strengthen the access of production and freight centers to international markets by establishing port and railway connections of regional industries with an integrated development approach.

The railway line is expected to reach over 13,900 kilometers by the end of this year, while the length is planned to be extended to over 14,200 kilometers next year and over 15,900 kilometers in 2027.

Double-track railways among the total main line are aimed to increase to 18 percent next year, 19 percent in 2026 and 21 percent in 2027, according to the budget.

The program also aims to increase the share of railways in passenger transportation from 5.93 percent next year to 6.12 percent in 2026 and 6.3 percent in 2027.

The target length for high-speed railway lines is a little over 2,600 kilometers next year, 2,800 kilometers in 2026, and 4,100 kilometers in 2027.

The budget’s railway investments aim to turn Türkiye into an important logistics base, enabling great opportunities in exports.

The program estimates that the share of railways in total freight transportation is to increase to 6.76 percent next year, 7.53 percent in 2026, and 7.7 percent in 2027.

The government plans to invest as much as 662.6 billion liras ($19b billion) under several transport programs next year, according to the draft 2025 budget.

Total investments in the country’s transport system will increase by 36.7 percent next year compared with 2024, shows the draft budget.

The lion’s share of investments will go to road transport. The government is increasing the money it allocates for road transport by 30 percent compared with 2024 to 329.9 billion.

The budget allocated for maritime transport will be increased from 4.3 billion liras to 5.7 billion liras.