Minister Uraloğlu announces: When will the Ankara-Izmir High-Speed Train Line open?

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who arrived in Afyonkarahisar to inspect the work on the Ankara-Izmir High-Speed Train Line Project on-site, received information about the progress at the Bayat-1 tunnel in the Bayat district and the V01 Viaduct in the city center.

In his speech there, Uraloğlu stated that they organized a field program to see the latest status of the Ankara-Izmir High-Speed Train Project on-site.

Noting that they conducted inspections along the route and received information about the project from their colleagues, Uraloğlu said, "Earthworks, viaduct, bridge, and tunnel construction are continuing at full speed on the high-speed train line between Polatlı and Afyonkarahisar. As of now, we have completed half of the 660-meter Bayat-1 tunnel. Hopefully, we will finish the excavation within the month of May."

Pointing out that work is also proceeding rapidly on the 2,208-meter-long V1 Viaduct, which runs north of Afyonkarahisar, Uraloğlu spoke as follows:

"We will soon begin work on superstructure tasks such as electrification and signaling on the Ankara-Izmir High-Speed Train line. We have also achieved 63 percent physical progress in the infrastructure works of the 180-kilometer section of the line, which is being built by the TCDD General Directorate, consisting of Banaz-Eşme, Eşme-Salihli, and Salihli-Manisa. We aim to complete a portion of our project in 2026 and the entirety in 2027. Within the scope of the 508-kilometer-long project, we have designed 10 stations: Emirdağ, Afyonkarahisar, Uşak, Alaşehir, Salihli, Manisa, Muradiye, Ayvacık, Emiralem, and Menemen. We are building 49 tunnels with a total length of 40.7 kilometers, 67 viaducts with a total length of 25.5 kilometers, 81 bridges, 781 culverts, 177 overpasses, and 244 underpasses. With the completion of the Ankara-Izmir High-Speed Train Project, the distance, which is 824 kilometers via the existing railway connection, will decrease to 624 kilometers. The travel time between Ankara and Izmir, which is currently 14 hours, will be reduced to 3 hours and 30 minutes."