Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced: Travel time on the Ankara-İstanbul YHT line will decrease

In a written statement, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu provided information regarding the T26 Tunnel and Doğançay Ripaj-2 projects, which are being carried out under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Turkish State Railways (TCDD) on the Ankara-Istanbul High-Speed Train (YHT) line.

Stating that there are three critical sections on the Eskişehir-Istanbul route that create bottlenecks in terms of capacity and speed, Uraloğlu said, "The 12-kilometer Doğançay Ripaj-1 section was opened to service in 2022. Now, by completing the T26 Tunnel and Doğançay Ripaj-2 sections, we will completely eliminate the bottlenecks on the Ankara-İstanbul YHT line. When our ongoing work on the line is completed, the journey between Ankara and Istanbul, which currently takes 4 hours and 7 minutes by YHT, will drop to 3 hours and 37 minutes."

A NEW CONNECTION WILL BE PROVIDED WITH THE T26 TUNNEL

Uraloğlu stated that with the completion of the T26 Tunnel, line integrity suitable for an operating speed of 250 kilometers per hour will be achieved in the Alifuatpaşa-Arifiye section of the Ankara-İstanbul YHT line.

Expressing that high-speed trains currently have to travel at an average speed of 55 kilometers per hour on the approximately 9.2-kilometer conventional line, Uraloğlu said that this section will be bypassed by the 8-kilometer T26 Tunnel.

In his assessment of the subject, Uraloğlu said, "Travel time on the Bozüyük-Bilecik line will decrease by 11 minutes to 9 minutes after the T26 Tunnel. In addition, we will reduce delays in train meetings caused by the single-track connection and remove operational restrictions on freight trains. We have completed the infrastructure work for the total 5,587-meter tunnel. We are continuing with the superstructure, electrification, and signaling works."

19-MINUTE GAIN TARGET IN THE DOĞANÇAY SECTION

Stating that the Doğançay Ripaj-2 Project is also one of the critical sections of the line, Uraloğlu reported that 7,544 meters of tunnel, 3,795 meters of safety tunnel, and approximately 795 meters of viaduct have been constructed within the scope of the project.

Uraloğlu stated, "With the completion of the Doğançay Ripaj-2, travel time in this section will drop from 23 minutes to 4 minutes. Thus, a total saving of 19 minutes will be achieved on the Ankara-Istanbul High-Speed Train line."