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High-speed train projects to connect two big Turkish cities

26 May 2011 [11:00] - TODAY.AZ
High-speed train projects will connect Turkey’s capital city, Ankara, with the Aegean province of İzmir, the country’s third biggest city, according to information gathered by the Anatolia news agency.

The routes, which are planned to pass through the western provinces of Afyonkarahisar and Uşak, will reduce the route between the two cities by nearly 200 kilometers once the project is completed. Traveling between the two cities normally takes nearly 4 hours.

The total route is expected to be nearly 663 kilometers long, according to Anatolia. The high-speed train would be designed to travel at 250 kilometers per hour. It is expected to be completed by 2015 and have a 6-million-passenger capacity annually.

After finishing the first phase of the high-speed train between Istanbul and Ankara, to Eskişehir two years ago, the Turkish State Railways, or TCDD, will complete the construction of the route from Ankara to the Central Anatolian province of Konya. Passengers will be able to travel from Ankara to Konya in 2.5 hours.

Another one of TCDD’s high-speed train projects will be constructed between Ankara and Sivas, a Central Anatolian province, reducing the distance between the two cities to 406 kilometers and the travel time from 12 hours to 2.5 hours. Traveling from Istanbul to Sivas will take about 5.5 hours, compared with a 21-hour bus ride.

Direct flights to Balıkesir

Direct flights between Ankara and the western province of Balıkesir have meanwhile been restarted after four years of interruption. "With direct flights to Balıkesir, locals will be able to travel much easier to the eastern province of Van and the northeastern province of Trabzon," Anadolu Jet general manager Sami Alan said after the first flight to the city landed Wednesday.


/Hurriyet Daily News/

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/86916.html

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