Turkey to launch its first high-speed train in March
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Turkey will launch its first high-speed train in March, transportation minister said on Tuesday.
Turkey's Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said the high-speed train voyage between capital Ankara and central Anatolian city of Eskisehir would be launched in March.
"We will inaugurate the line on March 13," he said during a meeting at his office.
Turkey started building high-speed rail lines in 2003. The project will link capital Ankara to Istanbul. The first phase of the project was the line between Ankara and Eskisehir. High-speed train will lower the 180-minute train travel from Ankara to Eskisehir to 70 minutes.
When Ankara-Istanbul High Speed Train Project is completed, a double-line, electrified, and signaled railroad appropriate for 250 km/h speed between two major cities will be constructed. The travel time between Ankara and Istanbul, which is currently 6 hours and 30 minutes, will be 2 hours and 30 minutes between Ankara and Gebze and 3 hours between Ankara and Istanbul.
The Turkish State Railways Administration (TCDD) purchased first high-speed train sets, with a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour, from Spain's CAF company in 2007.