Kagithane railway is waiting for the day

Kâğıthane railway is waiting to be unearthed: The historic railway line that is used between the Golden Horn and the Black Sea Sahara Line during the First World War but not used in the following years is reopened.

Istanbul's Kagithane district municipality started work to revive the historical railway line, the foundations of which were laid in 1915.

In a written statement made by the Kağıthane Municipality, it was stated that action was taken to implement the historical railway line. Starting its works with historical documents and ruins, Kağıthane Municipality has determined the route of the Kagithane Railway, which was established in the First World War years under the name of "Golden Horn-Black Sea Sahara Line" to transport coal to Silahtarağa Electric Factory. Later, with the support of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the municipality, which speeded up its works, applied to the Board of Monuments for the registration of the line.

As a result of the inspections carried out by the municipality, it was learned that the line could be rebuilt in accordance with its original structure and that the historical railway line to be constructed could be used for cultural tourism outside the city, while the remaining part of the city center could be used for public transportation.

According to historical sources, the Golden Horn-Black Sea field line, which was established as a connection line between the Guntarağa Power Plant operating in Istanbul in 1914, and the lignite quarries in the north of the city, transported the coal, which was extracted from Zonguldak and brought to Istanbul by sea, to Silahtarağa Power Plant. The second leg of the line was put into service when the coal supply was started in the First World War.

Starting from Silahtarağa Power Plant, the line running north through the west coast of the Kagithane Creek and passing through Göktürk was divided into two branches in Kemerburgaz. One branch was following the Kagithane Stream and passing under Uzunkemer, meeting the Black Sea in the village of Agacli. Among the 4 main stations on the line, the closest one to the city was the Kagithane Station.

The rails of the closed line were buried in the ground. Non-soil parts were removed. While the sections of the passage route outside the city still exist today, many of the milestones have survived to the present day.