Opening Date Given 14 Times in 6 Years for Ankara Sivas YHT Line

CHP Deputy Chairman Ahmet Akın, in his report, noted that the Ankara-Sivas High Speed ​​​​Train (YHT) project was opened 2007 times in 14 years after the first tender in 6.

According to the news of Erdem Sevgi from Cumhuriyet; “President Fuat Oktay and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu visited the Baliseyh construction site of the line on June 5 and participated in the test drive.

Explaining that the opening date was given 14 times in 6 years, CHP Deputy Chairman Ahmet Akın said, "This project is the clearest example of the government's lack of planning and extravagance."

CHP Akın's report summarized the following:

It increased 4 times: The route of the line was changed to a large extent while the construction works that started in 2008 continued. The tunnel length, which is 10 thousand 618 meters, reaches 43 thousand 742 meters; The length of the viaduct, which was 2 thousand 730 meters, increased to 11 thousand 263 meters.

Over 10 billion: It is calculated that the expenditure made within the scope of the project is over 10 billion TL according to the present value. It is stated that the reason why the project is still not completed despite the lost time and expenditure is that the tenders are not made on the basis of actual quantities and the project is not prepared based on soil-drilling studies.

Preparation for opening before completion: When the promises of the government did not keep, it was decided that a part of the line would work on the old rail system before it was completed and it would be opened in September. The existing conventional line between Ankara and Kırıkkale, which corresponds to approximately 20 percent of the line, will be used.

Here are the Opening Dates Given for Ankara Sivas YHT

• The tender was made in 2007. It was announced that the line will be put into service for the first time in 2012.
• In 2015, the route of the line was changed due to incorrect planning. The public loss occurred due to the large differences that occurred.
• TCDD General Manager of the period in February 2017 İsa Apaydın line in 2018;
• In February 2019, President Erdoğan, on the line's Eid al-Fitr (June 2019);
• In October 2019, then Minister of Transport Cahit Turan, on the line's next Ramadan Feast (May 2020);
• Adil Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure in May 2020, during the year (2020);
• Karaismailoğlu again in March 2021, in June 2021;
• In May 2021, Transportation Officer-Sen Sivas Branch President Ömer Vatankulu announced that the line will be opened on September 4, 2021.