Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said, “The number of passengers carried in Marmaray has reached one billion in 10 years. Marmaray has carried more passengers in 10 years than the European continent of 745 million consisting of 64 countries. This is an investment and operational success.”
In his written statement, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated that Marmaray, which was built under the Bosphorus and opened in 2013, made history not only in the number of passengers but also in freight transportation.
Pointing out that Marmaray has the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel used by rail systems with a depth of 60.46 meters, Uraloglu stated that Marmaray, which started voyages with 5 stations in the first place, now serves citizens with 43 stations with a length of 76.6 kilometers.
Uraloglu stated that Marmaray, which has a daily capacity of 287 trips and 877 thousand 72 passengers, has a vehicle fleet of 440 wagons in a total of 54 train sets, including 34 with 10 wagons and 20 with 5 wagons. “The number of passengers carried in Marmaray, which reduced the travel time on the Gebze-Halkalı route to 108 minutes, reached one billion in 10 years. Marmaray carried more passengers in 10 years than the European continent of 745 million consisting of 64 countries. This is an investment and operational success. It is aimed to transport approximately 203 million passengers with Marmaray in 2023.”
“Freight transportation with Marmaray has also become uninterrupted”
Pointing out that Marmaray, which offers uninterrupted rail transportation from London to Beijing, comes to the forefront not only in passenger but also in freight transportation, Uraloglu said, “With Marmaray, not only urban passenger transportation, but also mainline and freight transportation became uninterrupted. Marmaray serves YHT and mainline trains at Gebze, Pendik, Bostancı, Sogutlucesme, Bakirkoy and Halkali stations. High-speed trains pass through Marmaray and reach Halkali, while freight trains pass through at night. Domestic and international freight trains pass through Marmaray.”
The first freight train from China to Europe made history using Marmaray
Uraloglu stated that Marmaray also broke new ground in domestic freight transportation and said:
“The first freight train from China to Europe used Marmaray. On May 8, 2020, the freight train carrying plastic raw materials from Gaziantep to Corlu became the first domestic freight train to use Marmaray by passing through here. While 3 thousand 29 freight trains have passed through the Marmaray Bosphorus Tube Crossing, 1610 of these trains went to Europe, 1419 to Asia, and most of them carried export cargo. With the uninterrupted transportation of cargo via the Derince-Tekirdag ferry with Marmaray, intermediate handling and ferry costs have been eliminated, while competitive transportation tariffs have been created in terms of both time and cost.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz