Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality is putting out a tender for a major infrastructure arrangement for the TCDD level crossing in the Alifuatpaşa Neighborhood of Geyve district and its surroundings. This project will be an important step in the rearrangement of the level crossing and the reinforcement of the surrounding infrastructure. The tender is planned to be held on April 14, 2025 and the completion period is set as 120 days. With this project, the crossing arrangements that the people of Alifuatpaşa have been waiting for for years will finally be implemented.
History of Alifuatpaşa Level Crossing
The level crossing in the Alifuatpaşa Neighborhood of the Geyve district was closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic approximately 10 years ago with the start of High Speed Train (YHT) services. The closure of the crossing was a great loss for the people of Alifuatpaşa. Because this crossing divided the neighborhood in two and significantly hindered the flow of trade. The people of Alifuatpaşa, who were angry about this situation, tried to make their voices heard by holding a sit-in protest on the Istanbul-Ankara High Speed Train line in 2014.
Over time, the route of the YHT changed and the issue of reopening the level crossing that caused Alifuatpaşa to be divided into two came to the agenda. However, despite these hopes, the crossing never opened. At that time, the then Geyve Mayor Metin Atalay reached out to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu who came to Sakarya and received a promise that the crossing would be opened, but no steps were taken in the following period.
Protocol and Initiation of Studies
The expectations of the people of Alifuatpaşa were not met for a long time. However, the protocol signed between the TCDD 2023st Regional Directorate and Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality in December 1 was an important turning point. According to this protocol, a two-stage plan would be implemented to reopen the level crossing. In February 2024, the first stage of the protocol was put into effect and the overpass built for the YHT was removed. However, when the elections intervened, the crossing that the people of Alifuatpaşa were waiting for was not opened again.
Following this development, last February, CHP District Chairman Gürkan Kar and Sakarya CHP Deputy Ayça Taşkent visited TCDD General Manager Veysi Kurt in his office and requested that the passage be opened as soon as possible. Veysi Kurt stated that they were in communication with Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality and announced that the process would be accelerated.
New Infrastructure Works for Alifuatpaşa
Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality has taken an important step for the rearrangement of the Alifuatpaşa level crossing. The municipality will make infrastructure arrangements at the level crossing in Alifuatpaşa Neighborhood and its surroundings. Within the scope of the tender, 2 mobile hurdles will be supplied and installed, 4 railway level crossing controlled automatic arm barrier systems, 26 meters of rubber or composite coating panels will be supplied and installed. In addition, a security cabin will be purchased and installed.
This project, which the people of Geyve have been waiting for for many years, will undoubtedly solve the transportation problems in the region to a great extent. The reopening of the level crossing will contribute to the unification of Alifuatpaşa and the revival of trade.
Project Process and Expectations
The completion period of the project has been determined as 120 days and the tender will be held on April 14, 2025. After this date, the works will start rapidly and the project is aimed to be completed within 4 months. The people of Alifuatpaşa are waiting with great excitement for the passage they have been longing for for years to be put back into operation. This infrastructure arrangement will not only facilitate transportation but also make a positive contribution to the economic and social life of the region.
