Turkey Opens Çerkezköy Kapıkule High Speed Train Line
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye, inaugurated the Çerkezköy–Kapıkule high-speed train line at a formal ceremony. This line is part of the larger Halkalı–Kapıkule project, which connects Istanbul to the Bulgarian border and from there to the European rail network.
The opened section is 153 kilometers long and was built as a double-track, electrified line equipped with a signaling system. The line is designed for an operating speed of 200 kilometers per hour, and the total length of the Halkalı–Kapıkule project reaches 229 kilometers. With the commissioning of this line, passenger travel time between Halkalı and Kapıkule decreases from 4 hours to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
At the ceremony, Erdoğan said that this project is an important step in strengthening Türkiye’s transportation, logistics, production, exports, and tourism, and that it contributes to the development of regional trade. With the commissioning of this line, rail travel times between Istanbul and the European border are reduced, and passenger and freight transport capacity increases.
The European Union has also supported this project and has described it as an important factor in strengthening transport corridors between Europe and Asia.
