Turkish State Railways (TCDD) has postponed BAŞKENTRAY, a project to bring the Ankara suburban railway line between the city’s Sincan and Kayas districts up to metro standards, by two years.   

The TCDD General Directorate had originally intended to hold a tender for the BAŞKENTRAY project by the end of March but has since decided to focus on ongoing high-speed train projects, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.

With overburdened train services following the start of high-speed train service between Ankara and Eskisehir in mind, the directorate decided to construct a conventional railway route between Ankara and Sincan in order to relieve rail traffic until the project is completed. The 24-kilometer-long conventional railway to be added to the north of an existing railway route will also allow high-speed train services to operate.

Following approval by the State Planning Organization (DPT), the TCDD plans to open a tender within a couple of months for the conventional railway.

The BAŞKENTRAY project envisages renovating all rail lines, railway platforms and stations in which a 36-kilometer-long new railway will be built. During the construction project, suburban trains between Sincan and Kayas will be suspended. New trains will have black boxes as seen on airplanes, electronic security systems and will be disabled-passenger friendly. Each train, comprising three wagons, can carry 747 passengers. Among the technical features of the trains are closed-circuit television systems, an interphone system, air-conditioning and automatic doors.

 09 March 2010, Tuesday

 Today’s Zaman