First report ready for 3-level sub-sea tunnel of Istanbul

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Istanbul's three-level sub-sea tunnel project has been completed. The 31-kilometer-long tunnel project will be launched after the approval of Environment and Urbanization Minister, İdris Güllüce. Announced by the Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in February, the report issued for presenting the environmental effects, characteristics, routes and the proposed measures was submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization last week. According to the file presented, the 31-kilometer-long metro system between İncirli (European side) and Söğütlüçeşme (Asian side) will be divided into three segments. The highway that will be integrated into the metro line will be 16,150 kilometers long and divided into five segments between the TEM Higway Hasdal Junction and Ümraniye Çamlık Junctions.

With the implementation of the project, railway systems on the European Side of Istanbul will be 15,000 meters long, the three-level tunnel will be 6,500 meters long, and the section on the Asian side will be 9,500 meters long, equaling 31 kilometers of railway systems in total. A 16,150-meter-long highway crossing will be integrated into the system. The diameter of the three-level tunnel will be 16.8 meters and the tunnel will be built 110 meters under the sea and the water depth in the area that the tunnel will cross under the Bosphorus will be 60-65 meters. The three-level segment, which includes both the metro and the highway, will be 6.5 kilometers long, and 14 stations will be located on the metro line between İncirli-Söğütlüçeşme.

The high speed metro segment will have a daily passenger capacity of 1.5 million and 75,000 passengers per hour in one direction. Estimates say that 6.5 million passengers will be using the rail systems it is integrated into and the travel time between İncirli and Söğütlüçeşme will decrease by 40 minutes.