March 2009 Archives

Turkey's first high-speed train, running between Ankara and Eskişehir, has started to carry passengers. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took an inaugural ride at 9:40 a.m. on Friday with a host of other officials and journalists following a ceremony at the Ankara train station. 

 
Erdoğan said during the ceremony that a high-speed line running between Eskişehir and İstanbul was also in the works, and that when they completed an Ankara-İstanbul line, they will have realized a 10-year dream.

By the end of 2010, an Ankara-Konya line should be complete, Erdoğan said, recalling the importance of this transportation project to his administration. "In this way, we're spreading railroads across the country," the prime minister said.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan drove the high-speed train which departed from Ankara at 9:40 a.m.

Speaking at the ceremony which was held at Ankara Train Station, Erdoğan said that the railway line between Eskişehir and İstanbul would also be completed rapidly.

He added that they targeted to complete Ankara-Konya part of the railway line by the end of 2009.

Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım, Environment & Forestry Minister Veysel Eroğlu, transportation ministers of Iran and Spain, foreign mission representatives, reporters and representatives of non-governmental organizations are the other passengers of the high-speed train.

The train can reach a speed of 250 km/hrs, and it cost 17.5 million Euro. A total of 16 cameras as well as an "event recorder" were installed in the train which can carry 419 passengers in a single travel.