Turkey aims to link whole country by high‑speed rail, 48‑hour tour by 2053

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that Turkey will be able to traverse the entire country by high‑speed train in 48 hours by 2053. He said the government has invested about $355 billion in transport and infrastructure over the past 24 years, expanding the rail network from roughly 11,000 km in 2002 to more than 14,900 km today, of which 2,251 km are high‑speed lines.

The plan targets a network of 17,287 km by 2028 and 28,590 km by 2053, increasing the number of provinces directly served by high‑speed trains from 11 to 27 by 2028. Key lines under construction include Ankara‑İzmir, Halkalı‑Kapıkule, Bandırma‑Bursa‑Yenişehir‑Osmaneli, and Mersin‑Adana‑Osmaniye‑Gaziantep, as well as the Kars‑Iğdır‑Aralık‑Dilucu corridor linking the Caucasus and a new crossing over the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge to provide an alternative to the Marmaray route.

Uraloğlu said the projects also involve extending 439 km of feeder (iltisak) lines to 608 km and raising the number of logistics centers from 13 to 25. About 4,164 km of new tracks are under construction, and a 20,141‑km fiber‑optic network is being rolled out to support smart‑transport systems. He concluded, “By 2053, Turkey’s four corners will be connected by high‑speed rail, allowing a 48‑hour tour of the whole nation.”