Travel time between Ankara and Istanbul on Türkiye's high-speed rail network will be reduced by 30 minutes once ongoing infrastructure projects are completed, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said Wednesday.
In a written statement, Uraloğlu said the Ankara-Istanbul High-Speed Train (YHT) line's journey time will fall from four hours and seven minutes to three hours and 37 minutes following the completion of the T26 Tunnel and Doğançay Relocation-2 projects being carried out by the General Directorate of Turkish State Railways (TCDD).
The minister said the projects are designed to eliminate the remaining bottlenecks on the Eskişehir-Istanbul section of the line, one of Türkiye's busiest rail corridors.
"The 12-kilometer Doğançay Relocation-1 section entered service in 2022. By completing the T26 Tunnel and Doğançay Relocation-2 sections, we will fully remove the bottlenecks on the Ankara-Istanbul YHT line," Uraloğlu said.
According to the minister, the T26 Tunnel will create a continuous railway corridor suitable for operating speeds of up to 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour on the Alifuatpaşa-Arifiye section of the route.
