Türkiye to open high-speed rail link to Bulgarian border
Türkiye is set to inaugurate a 153-kilometer section of the Halkali-Kapikule high-speed railway on Oct. 9, extending the country’s high-speed rail network to Kapikule and the Bulgarian border.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend the opening ceremony.
The Cerkezkoy-Kapikule section, the longest part of the planned Halkali-Kapikule line, will carry both passengers and freight.
Travel times to fall sharply
The double-track, electrified railway has been designed for speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour.
The section includes 31 bridges, eight cut-and-cover tunnels, two viaducts, 114 underpasses and overpasses, and 175 culverts. A total of 353 kilometers of rail have been laid as part of the project.
Passenger travel time between Halkali and Kapikule is expected to fall from about four hours to 1.5 hours, while freight journeys are projected to decline from 8.5 hours to 3.5 hours.
Rail capacity is also expected to increase significantly. Annual passenger capacity is projected to rise from 600,000 to about 3 million, while freight capacity is expected to increase from 1.5 million tonnes to 9.5 million tonnes.
Key gateway to European markets
The railway is expected to improve connections between European markets and industrial zones and ports in Istanbul, Kocaeli, Tekirdag and the wider Thrace region.
Uraloglu said 86% of Türkiye’s rail freight exports in 2024 moved through the corridor.
Infrastructure at Kapikule, Türkiye’s main rail crossing into Europe, is also being expanded. The number of tracks at the station will increase from 23 to 42, while total track length will double from 14,840 meters to 29,680 meters.
A 2.4-kilometer section between Kapikule and the Bulgarian border will also be converted to double track.
Part of wider Europe-Asia network
The government describes the Halkali-Kapikule railway as an important European gateway for the Middle Corridor, linking Türkiye with the wider European rail network.
The route will also form the western end of the planned Development Road, which aims to connect Iraq’s Al Faw Port with Europe through Türkiye.
Construction is continuing on the Ispartakule-Cerkezkoy section and on the section connecting Ispartakule with Halkali.
Once the entire line is completed, authorities expect it to strengthen passenger and freight connections between Europe and Asia while expanding Türkiye’s role as a regional rail transit hub.
Source:AA
