Turkey's fast trains to begin passenger test runs in February

Yildirm told a press conference that test runs between the Turkish capital, Ankara, and the western province of Eskisehir have been completed, adding that passengers runs would begin by the end of February at the latest.

A fast train service between the central province of Ankara and Konya is also expected to be in service by 2010, if the infrastructure is completed, he added.

The government, which plans to establish a network of train lines around the country, has allocated $2 billion for the project and aims to have all the lines operational by 2023, broadcaster CNNTurk said.Â

The project foresees train lines running from the eastern province of Kars to Bulgaria.

The project plans to reduce the traveling time between Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, and the capital, Ankara, to three hours.