Ankara, Turkey, May 5, 2026 – The journey between Ankara and Istanbul on the High-Speed Train (YHT) lines will be shortened by 30 minutes, a development announced by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu during his inspection of the T26 Tunnel construction site in Bilecik. This tunnel is a critical component in reducing travel times on both the Ankara-Istanbul and Konya-Istanbul YHT lines.
Minister Uraloğlu Inspects T26 Tunnel Site
Minister Uraloğlu visited the T26 Tunnel construction site, where he received detailed information on the project’s status and personally assessed the progress of the works. “We received detailed information from our colleagues about the latest situation in the project and personally evaluated the progress of our work,” Uraloğlu stated to the press.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to railway development since 2002 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Uraloğlu emphasized, “In the last 24 years, we have seen the concrete results of the strong investments we have made in the field of railways. Railway passenger transportation, especially with high-speed trains, has ushered in a new era in our country. High-speed trains have not only connected cities but have also fundamentally changed the transportation habits of our citizens. Thanks to the comfort, economy, high speed, and safety advantages they offer, they have become a particularly preferred mode of transport.”
110 Million Passengers Have Traveled by YHT
Uraloğlu noted that a significant portion of citizens traveling from Ankara to Eskişehir, Istanbul, or Sivas today choose rail transport. “Since high-speed trains first began service in 2009 with the Ankara-Eskişehir line, approximately 110 million citizens have traveled,” he announced.
The year 2025 was also a productive and successful year for railway transportation, according to Uraloğlu. “Throughout last year, we served approximately 283 million passengers on high-speed trains, main line trains, regional trains, and urban lines. Approximately 12 million passengers opted for high-speed trains, with the busiest line being the Ankara-Istanbul line, serving about 6 million passengers. Since its inception, 42.6 million citizens have traveled on our Ankara-Istanbul High-Speed Train Line,” he added.
Expanding the High-Speed Rail Network
Uraloğlu also detailed the ongoing construction of new high-speed train lines, including Ankara-İzmir, Bandırma-Bursa-Yenişehir-Osmaneli, Mersin-Adana-Osmaniye-Gaziantep, Halkalı-Kapıkule, Yerköy-Kayseri, Kırıkkale-Çorum, and Karaman-Ulukışla.
The target is to expand the railway network to 17,287 kilometers by 2028 and increase the number of provinces directly connected by high-speed rail to 27. “Hopefully, by 2053, we will connect all four corners of our country with high-speed train lines, allowing us to travel all over Turkey in 48 hours,” Uraloğlu stated.
T26 Tunnel: A Critical Link
Regarding the T26 Tunnel, Uraloğlu explained, “The 5,587-meter T26 Tunnel, located in the Bozüyük-Bilecik section of the Ankara-Istanbul High-Speed Railway Line, is one of the most critical points of the line. Because, with the completion of the T26 Tunnel and its connection to the high-speed train line, the currently used 9.1-kilometer conventional line will be replaced by an 8-kilometer high-speed train line. This will allow our trains to travel at 250 km/h instead of 55 km/h in this section, reducing the 20-minute journey to 9 minutes, and completely eliminating delays caused by single-track train encounters.”
T26 Tunnel Completion Targeted for 2027
Uraloğlu provided an update on the construction progress, stating, “The tunnel’s safety tunnels and cut-and-cover constructions were completed by the end of last year. This means that the excavation and support works for our tunnels are finished, and the tunnels have been opened in this sense. Our superstructure electrification and signaling works are progressing rapidly. According to our plans, we aim to complete the superstructure manufacturing in the third quarter of 2026, and the electrification and signaling manufacturing in the last quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. We aim to put this entire section, including the T26 and its connections, into service within months of this completion, that is, before mid-2027.”
Works Continue on Sapanca-Geyve Section
Uraloğlu also mentioned that infrastructure, superstructure, and electromechanical construction works are in full swing on the 12-kilometer Sapanca-Geyve route, which is a continuation of the aforementioned route. “The physical progress of the work in that section is at 65 percent. We plan to complete and open that section in the first half of 2028, or in the first quarter if we don’t experience any delays with the tunnels. Under the leadership of our President, we will continue to uphold the vision of ‘weaving our homeland with iron networks.’ With ongoing and new projects, we will connect our country with a faster, safer, and more modern railway network. When we complete our work in both the T26 and Sapanca regions, we will reduce the travel time between Ankara and Istanbul by half an hour.”
With the completion of the Sapanca-Doğançay Ripaj and the Bilecik T26 tunnel, the 4-hour and 7-minute journey between Ankara and Istanbul is expected to be reduced to 3 hours and 37 minutes.
Source: Sabah.com.tr
