The tender for the Istanbul Northern Railway Crossing, a 125-kilometre double-track line that will link the city’s two main airports, has drawn 25 bids, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Thursday, according to Anadolu Agency (AA), Sabah and Patronlar Dünyası.
Uraloğlu said in a written statement that the first bids had been received the previous day, and that four foreign firms from China and Italy took part alongside companies from Türkiye, according to AA, Sabah and Patronlar Dünyası. None of the three outlets reported how many bids came from each country or the value of the offers.
The tender covers the design and construction of the line’s infrastructure and superstructure, the three outlets reported.
$6.75 billion in foreign financing
According to AA, Sabah and Patronlar Dünyası, Uraloğlu said six international financial institutions will provide a total of 6.75 billion dollars for the project, which he described as Türkiye’s largest foreign-financed railway project. The lenders were not named in the reports.
Route between the two airports
The line will run from Gebze through Sabiha Gökçen Airport, across the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, and on to Istanbul Airport and Çatalca, according to AA, Sabah and Patronlar Dünyası. It will include 42 bridges and viaducts with a total length of 22.4 kilometres and 44 tunnels totalling 59.1 kilometres, the three outlets reported.
The minister said the project will connect Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport directly by rail for the first time, according to AA, Sabah and Patronlar Dünyası. In Çatalca, the new line will connect to the Halkalı–Çerkezköy high-speed railway, which is under construction, the three outlets reported.
Passenger and freight targets
Once completed, the line is expected to carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tonnes of freight a year, Uraloğlu said, according to AA, Sabah and Patronlar Dünyası. He said freight trains will be able to run on it 24 hours a day, easing freight pressure on the Marmaray line and raising capacity on the Middle Corridor, the three outlets reported.
None of the reports gave a construction timetable, a completion date or a date for the contract award.
Sources
- İstanbul Kuzey Demir Yolu Geçişi Projesi için 25 teklif verildi (Anadolu Ajansı)
- Kuzey Demiryolu Geçişi Projesi’ne yoğun ilgi! Bakan Uraloğlu açıkladı: Toplam 25 teklif aldık (Sabah)
- İstanbul Kuzey Demir Yolu Geçişi Projesi’ne 4’ü yabancı 25 firmadan teklif (Patronlar Dünyası)
Photo: VikiPicture / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
