The Halkalı-Kapıkule railway project, which will connect Türkiye's high-standard railway with European countries, will greatly increase freight and passenger transportation capacity, Edirne Governor Hüseyin Kürşat Kırbıyık said.
Kırbıyık stated that the project provides connections with ports of the Baltic, Black, North and Mediterranean seas. It will include three sections, Çerkezköy-Kapıkule, Halkalı-Ispartakule and Ispartakule-Çerkezköy.
Emphasizing that the work on the Çerkezköy-Kapıkule line is underway and that 85% of the line has been completed so far, Kırbıyık said: "It is a project that will maximize the integration of our city with Istanbul and the rest of the country."
The entire line will feature six stations, two viaducts, 16 railway bridges and 10 cut-and-cover tunnels. It will also include 59 overpasses, 59 underpasses and 193 vents, along with four underpasses and six overpasses to facilitate animal crossing.
Travel time for freight trains between Halkalı and Kapıkule, a 229-kilometer (142.2-miles) section, will be reduced from 8 to 3.5 hours. Once the work is completed, passenger train services will take 1.5 hours instead of 3.5 hours. Capacity in the section will increase fourfold, according to information shared by the ministry.
The project, which is funded by the European Union with a budget of over 500 million euros ($534 million), is estimated to generate economic benefits and will create an economical and reliable transport service to support international import and export activities.
The route will provide a safer transport option for commuters in the urban area of Istanbul and decrease carbon emissions.
"There will be a very serious increase in capacity in freight transportation," said Kırbıyık, adding that after the completion of the project, the annual carrying capacity of 1.5 million tons will increase up to 9.6 million tons.
Explaining that the work continues for the 680-meter viaduct built on the side of the Tundzha River, Kırbıyık said that the viaduct will be completed by the end of August this year.
Noting that the viaduct built within the project is of great importance for the city, he said: "Previously, a single line was accessible over a conventional line on a filling area. With this project, there will be three lines, two of which will be on the side of the high-speed train.
"The filling area will be completely cleared and a viaduct will be built here. The bottom of the viaduct will also be used for parking and various purposes. This was an important gain in terms of both the landscape and air circulation of the city," he concluded.
