Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway

Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway
A westbound train waiting to depart Ankara Central Station
Overview
Type	High-speed rail
System	Turkish State Railways
Status	Operational
Locale	Central Anatolia
Termini	Ankara Pendik, Istanbul Istanbul Haydarpaşa Terminal Future
Stations	10 12 Future
Operation
Opened	13 March 2009 (Ankara-Eskişehir) 25 July 2014 (Eskişehir-Istanbul)
Owner	Turkish State Railways
Operator(s)	Turkish State Railways
Depot(s)	Güvercinlik Yard New Ispartakule Yard Future
Rolling stock	HT65000
Technical
Line length	533 km (331.19 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	3 500 m
Electrification	25 kV, 50 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed	250 km/h (160 mph)
Maximum incline	16 ‰

The Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway (Turkish: Ankara–İstanbul yüksek hızlı demiryolu), is a 533 km (331 mi) long high-speed railway currently running between Ankara and Pendik (a suburb of Istanbul), with the Pendik-Central İstanbul part under construction.

Construction on the route is taking place in two phases. The first phase is a 251 kilometres (156 mi), $747 million route between Sincan (a district of Ankara) and İnönü, for which construction began in 2003 on a segment between Esenkent and Eskisehir; this segment was completed in 2007. Regular service between Ankara and Eskisehir began on 13 March 2009. Two shorter lines complete the first phase: a line between Eskisehir and Inonu began construction in 2008 and was completed in 2010, and a line between Sincan and Esenkent was built in 2008.

The second phase, between İnönü and Pendik, is about 214 kilometres (133 mi) long, and costs $2.27 billion. The substantially higher price of the second phase is due to more challenging terrain than the first, including 33 bridges and 39 tunnels.

The section between Inonu and Pendik (a suburb on the Asian side of Istanbul) was opened by the prime minister on 25 July 2014, with the service between Istanbul (Pendik) and Ankara taking 3.5 hours. The service started with six departures daily in both directions. The line will continue into central Istanbul when the Marmaray project is completed in approximately 2018. Until the high speed line is fully completed, the high speed trains will use conventional line on some parts of the route (between Sapanca and Alifuatpaşa. The line is planned to be completed fully in 2016, and the total budget is expected to reach 8.8 billion TL.

Construction is partially financed through foreign sources, including €1.25 billion from the European Investment Bank and €120 million from the European Union.

The China Railway Construction Corporation and the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation won the bid in 2005 to build the railway line in partnership with two Turkish companies, Cengiz Construction and Ibrahim Cecen Ictas Construction. The project was financed in part by a $750 million loan granted to Turkey by China.