Turkey has reached preliminary agreements with six major international financial institutions (the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) to secure around $6.75 billion in external financing for the new railway line, which will become the country’s largest foreign-funded project of its kind.
The total length of the railway line is 125 km. On the route it will be constructed 44 tunnels with a total length of 59.1 kilometers and 42 bridges with a total length of 22.4 kilometers.
The railway route starts from Gebza (on the Asian side) to Halkali (on the European side) over the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (passes through the northern part of Istanbul), connecting two major airports — Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport. The railway line will be integrated with other important railway routes such as the Marmaray tunnel and existing high-speed railway lines in the region. Once completed, the line is expected to transport around 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually.
