Abdulkadir Uraloğlu Announces Rail and Highway Cutting Travel Times

Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu detailed a series of infrastructure projects aimed at drastically reducing travel times across Turkey. Test runs have begun on the Halkalı‑Kapıkule high‑speed rail line, with the 153 km Çerkezköy‑Kapıkule segment slated to open by year‑end. When completed, passenger journeys on the line will drop from four hours to 1.5 hours and freight trips from 8.5 hours to 3.5 hours, while annual capacity is expected to rise from 600 000 to 3.4 million passengers and from 1.5 million to 9.6 million tonnes of cargo.

Parallel highway work on the Kınalı‑Malkara Otoyol will shorten the Istanbul‑Çanakkale corridor to two hours and bring the Istanbul‑Tekirdağ route below one hour. The projects are part of a broader investment of about $355 billion over 24 years, including 123 billion lira spent in Tekirdağ alone. By 2028 the network will directly link 27 provinces by fast rail, and the long‑term vision targets a 28 590 km rail system by 2053, allowing a complete Turkey tour in 48 hours. Uraloğlu emphasized the strategic role of these lines in the Middle Corridor, positioning Turkey as a crucial hub for Eurasian trade.