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

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.