Turkey to open 91-km metro lines by 2023

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry continues the construction of Istanbul's five metro projects, with a total length of 91km, Yeni Shafak newspaper reported on September 13.

Two more 9-km projects will be launched soon to solve the traffic problem in Istanbul, which is one of the leading megacities of the world with a population of 18 million, the report added.

The ministry is currently carrying out the Bashakshehir-Kayashehir, Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport, Halkali-Istanbul Airport, Bakirkoy-Kirazli, Tavshantepe-Sabiha Gokchen Airport, Sirkeci-Kazl?cheshme Kentsel Transport and Recreation Focused Transformation Project, the Altunizade-Ferah Mahallesi-Bosna Boulevard metro projects, which will ensure a more comfortable journey for the Istanbul residents, the ministry said.

The Bashakshehir-Kayashehir project will provide faster, more economical, and safe transportation between the city center and the Cham Sakura City Hospital, which became operational last year. The 6.2-km metro line will daily serve one million passengers.

The Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport metro line will facilitate people’s access to the Istanbul Airport. The 37.5-km-long metro line will have nine stations. It will be able to transport 600,000 passengers daily. The two-staged line will be inaugurated by mid-2022.

Halkali, which is one of the important destinations on the European side with its new housing projects in Istanbul, is close to being a center of attraction with the ongoing Istanbul Airport Metro project. Citizens who suffer traffic jams all day long will be able to reach the Istanbul Airport in 30 minutes with the completion of the project. The 31.5-km line will host eight stations and will transport 600,000 passengers daily. The project is scheduled to be completed by late 2022.

As the most important metro project of the Anatolian side, the Tavshantepe-Sabiha Gokchen Airport line will be integrated with the existing Kadikoy-Kaynarca Metro line to alleviate the traffic load on the Anatolian side. It is expected that 1.2 million passengers will benefit from the 7.4-km-long line with four stations. The line will begin to operate at the end of 2021.

The Bakirkoy-Kirazli project aims to increase transportation diversity and reduce density by providing the integration of the existing Metrokent-Kirazli Metro and other public transportation modes. A total of 1 million passengers will be transported daily via the 7.4-km line with seven stations. The project will be completed by late 2022.

Having completed most of its projects in the main transport arteries, the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry continues the construction of projects in Istanbul’s different parts as well.

The 4-km-long Altunizade-Farah Mahallesi-Bonsa Boulevard project, which will be completed in the second half of 2023, is aimed at transporting 8,000 passengers per hour.

The 9-km Sirkeci-Kazl?cheshme transportation project will host eight stations and serve 80,000 passengers per day. The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.