Istanbul–Kapıkule railway
The Istanbul–Kapıkule railway is a 229 km (142 mi) long rail line under construction from Halkalı, at Istanbul suburbs to Kapıkule, Turkey at the Bulgarian border. The construction is being financed about half with EU IPA funds (275M€ out of ~550M€) and should strengthen and increase the capacity of rail transport link between Europe and Turkey.[1]
| Istanbul–Kapıkule railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Under construction |
| Owner | Turkish State Railways |
| Locale | Western Thrace |
| Termini | Halkalı, Turkey Kapıkule, Turkey |
| Service | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | TCDD |
| Depot(s) | Halkalı Yard, Edirne Yard, Kapıkule Yard |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 229 km (142 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Double track |
| Character | Mainline |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz |
| Operating speed | 200 km/h (120 mph) |
Route description
From Halkalı, the line follows approximately the same corridor as line to Pythio until reaching Çerkezköy but with a smoother and shorter geometry. From Çerkezköy it gets south of the O-3 motorway and parallels it until Edirne. From Edirne onwards, it follows the same corridor as Pehlivanköy–Svilengrad until Kapıkule. The line will be passing through Lüleburgaz and Babaeski and short-cutting Çorlu and Pehlivanköy, both currently located on the main line. The Istanbul–Pythio and Pehlivanköy–Svilengrad lines will as a consequence be partly replaced (in sections where they overlap with the line), partly disused and partly become branch lines of this new main line.
Consequences on freight transport
As part of environmental/logistical policies of EU and Turkey, there are continuous efforts in transferring freight transports from TIR to rail. In this logic and for cost effectiveness, it has been decided to upgrade/rebuild the old railways to allow freight train services instead of building a high-speed railway from scratch. This should also unclog the saturation of road freight transport at Kapıkule border checkpoint.
It is also planned to connect the line to the Muratlı–Tekirdağ railway with the construction of an extra new section between Büyükkarıştıran and Muratlı in order to allow freight trains to reach Terkidağ port.