New high-speed line opens in Turkey
A new 153-kilometre section of high-speed railway has opened in north-western Turkey, extending the country's high-speed network towards the Bulgarian border. The Çerkezköy–Kapıkule section of the Halkalı–Kapıkule project was officially opened on October 9, with passenger services beginning the following day. The double-track, electrified line has been built for speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Three high-speed trains operate daily in each direction between Çerkezköy and Edirne, taking 54 minutes. Departures from Çerkezköy are at 10:45, 15:00 and 19:30, with return services from Edirne at 09:00, 13:00 and 17:45. Trains call at Büyükkarıştıran, Lüleburgaz and Babaeski.
Passengers travelling to or from Istanbul can connect at Çerkezköy with the existing regional service between Halkalı and Uzunköprü. This operates once daily in each direction, departing Halkalı at 08:25 and Uzunköprü at 15:40. The new high-speed services do not currently run to Kapıkule itself.
The line forms part of a 229-kilometre project intended to improve rail connections between Istanbul and the Bulgarian border. However, the remaining sections between Çerkezköy and Halkalı are still under construction, so the full route is not yet available for high-speed passenger services. Once completed, the project is intended to reduce the journey time between Halkalı, on the western edge of Istanbul, and Kapıkule from around four hours to one hour thirty minutes.
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Photo: TCDD HT65000 train at Ankara by NicholasNCE - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
