Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey has reached preliminary agreements with six international lenders to secure $6.75 billion for a new railway line across the Bosphorus, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Tuesday.
Project scope and route
The funding will support the 125 km Northern Ring Railway Project, which will carry passengers and freight from Gebze to Halkali via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and connect Istanbul’s two main airports.
Once completed, the line passing through north Istanbul is expected to carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tonnes of freight annually, Uraloglu said, adding it would boost rail capacity between Asia and Europe.
Lenders involved
Uraloglu said preliminary deals were reached with the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Tender and construction timeline
“We aim to complete the tender process and hand over the site this year so that (construction) work can start,” Uraloglu said.
Current cross-Bosphorus freight capacity
Uninterrupted rail freight across the Bosphorus Strait is currently possible through the Marmaray railway tunnel only during limited hours daily. According to the ministry’s website, a total of 1.7 million tonnes of cargo were transported through Marmaray between 2020 and October 2025.
What impact do you expect the Northern Ring Railway Project to have on passenger travel and freight logistics in Istanbul?
