Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony of the 120-kilometer Kırıkkale (Delice)-Çorum leg of the Ankara-Kırıkkale-Çorum-Samsun High-Speed Train Line. Minister Uraloğlu stated that the project will go down in history as the first high-speed train passenger transportation project to be built in northern Türkiye, centered in Ankara. He added that with the completion of the Çorum-Merzifon-Samsun sections, the travel time between Ankara and Samsun will decrease to 2,5 hours and the line will carry 12 million passengers and 14 million tons of cargo per year.
The Heart of Anatolia Meets the Black Sea
Minister Uraloğlu said in his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, “Today, we are not just laying the foundation of a railway line; we are opening the doors to a future where civilizations embrace and trade accelerates. With this project, we are bringing the heart of Anatolia together with the Black Sea.” Emphasizing that transportation is the key to a nation’s development, unity and cultural journey, Uraloğlu said that railways are the strongest, most environmentally friendly and most economical route of this journey.
Huge Investments and Visionary Projects in Railways
Stating that they have been handling railways as a state policy since 2002 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Uraloğlu said that they have made approximately $64 billion investment The Minister announced that they had done so. The Minister said that the total railway network length was increased to approximately 2002 thousand kilometres, 11 thousand 2 kilometres of which were YHT and high-speed train lines, to the railway length of approximately 251 thousand kilometres in 3. They increased it to 13 thousand 919 kilometers Uraloğlu added that they have made Türkiye the “center of the Iron Silk Road” extending from Asia to Europe with visionary projects such as Marmaray and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line.
The First High-Speed Train Line of the North and Its Regional Benefits
Minister Uraloğlu said that the Kırıkkale (Delice) – Çorum high-speed train line, the foundation of which they laid today, is a new link in this great vision and that it is considered to be Ankara-centered. It will go down in history as the first high-speed train passenger transport project to the north of Türkiye. He stated that the line will alleviate the increased traffic density on the Kırıkkale, Delice and Çorum routes by sharing it during religious holidays such as Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, and will enable families, friends and loved ones to meet each other more safely, faster and more comfortably.
Travel Times Are Shortening, Logistics Power Is Increasing
Uraloğlu stated that there is a 405-kilometer high-speed train line up to Delice within the scope of the line built within the scope of the 121,7-kilometer Ankara-Sivas High-Speed Train project. He added that they have completed the 293-kilometer Kırıkkale Delice-Çorum section of the 120-kilometer new high-speed train line that will start from Kırıkkale Delice, pass through Çorum, Merzifon and reach Samsun.
This line, planned to be suitable for a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, is completed An uninterrupted high-speed train connection will be provided between Ankara-Kırıkkale-Çorum ve The travel time between Çorum and Ankara will be reduced to just 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Minister Uraloğlu said that the 173-kilometer Çorum-Merzifon-Samsun sections of the line will be completed. Travel time between Ankara and Samsun will be 2,5 hours He noted. He emphasized that the line will carry 12 million passengers and 14 million tons of cargo annually, bringing the waves of the Black Sea to the ports of the Mediterranean. He also expressed the strategic importance of this railway corridor, which connects the Port of Samsun and the Port of Mersin, which will ease the freight traffic on the Bosphorus and Dardanelles and make Türkiye a logistics superpower in global trade.
Uraloğlu stated that the Kırıkkale (Delice)-Çorum line will be an engineering masterpiece with 200 stations, 5 bored tunnels, 8 cut-and-cover tunnels, 3 bridges and viaducts, 26 overpasses, 16 underpasses and 84 culverts, suitable for a speed of 208 kilometers per hour. The line will be completed and put into service by the end of 2029. announced.
Uninterrupted Transportation Network from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and 2053 Targets
Uraloğlu stated that the 509-kilometer-long Samsun-Sarp Railway project, which is the continuation of this line, is also on the agenda. A high-capacity, fast and environmentally friendly transportation network has been established between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Minister stated that within the scope of this network, the provinces of Rize, Trabzon, Giresun, Ordu, Samsun, Amasya and Çorum will be included in the national high-speed railway network centered in Ankara, starting from Artvin, and that approximately 8 million citizens will have direct high-speed train comfort when the line is completed up to Mersin.
Uraloğlu also noted that they aim to travel all of Türkiye in 2053 hours by connecting all four corners of the country with high-speed train lines in 48. Currently, Ankara-İzmir, Bandırma-Bursa-Yenişehir-Osmaneli, Halkalı- He added that the construction of very important railway projects such as Kapıkule, Karaman-Ulukışla, Mersin-Adana-Osmaniye-Gaziantep and Yerköy-Kayseri High Speed Train Lines is ongoing. He emphasized that with these works, they aim to increase the current railway network to 2028 kilometers by 17 and to 500 kilometers in line with the 2053 vision.
Stating that the Ankara-Kırıkkale (Delice)-Çorum-Samsun High Speed Train Line is a development project rather than a transportation project, Uraloğlu added that the project will strengthen Türkiye's export targets, broaden the horizons of the youth, make industrialists and tradesmen happy and accelerate the achievement of the Turkey Century targets.
