Ankara‑İstanbul high‑speed rail travel time reduced to 3 h 37 min

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that the completion of the T26 tunnel and the Doğançay Ripajı‑2 project will cut the Ankara‑İstanbul high‑speed train (YHT) journey from the current 4 hours 7 minutes to 3 hours 37 minutes, a reduction of about 30 minutes.

The T26 tunnel will allow the line between Alifuatpaşa and Arifiye to operate at 250 km/h, eliminating a slow 9.2 km conventional section. The Bozüyük‑Bilecik segment will see travel time fall from 11 minutes to 9 minutes. The Doğançay Ripajı‑2 works, including a 7 km tunnel, a 3.8 km safety tunnel and a 795 m viaduct, will cut that section’s time from 23 minutes to 4 minutes, delivering a total of 19 minutes saved on the route. Infrastructure works on the 5.6 km tunnel, electrification and signaling are also progressing.