Turkish rail network expands over 8,500 miles in 24 years

Türkiye’s railways rank sixth in Europe and eighth in the world in high-speed operations, having carried 114 million passengers to date.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the railway network expanded from 10,948 kilometers (6,802.7 miles) in 2002 to 13,919 kilometers (8,648.8 miles).

Out of this, 2,251 kilometers (1,398.7 miles) account for high-speed rail established since the ruling Justice and Development Party came to power.

“We restored our railways to the rightful place as a strong component of the Turkish transport system,” he said.

Uraloglu stated that the existing infrastructure also underwent comprehensive transformations in addition to the building of new railway lines.

Efforts to renew and modernize the entire railway network have resulted in 61% of railway lines being equipped with signaling systems, while more than half have been electrified.

The minister noted that new high-speed rail and railway investments are ongoing nationwide.

“We’re continuing the construction on lines, such as Ankara-Izmir, Halkali-Kapikule, Bandirma-Bursa-Yenisehir-Osmaneli, Mersin-Adana-Osmaniye-Gaziantep, Yerkoy-Kayseri, Kirikkale-Corum, and Kalaman-Ulukisla,” he said.

“We aim to increase the number of provinces linked by high-speed rail from 11 to 27 by 2028,” he added.