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Turkey's Marmaray rail line enters service with Siemens Mobility technology
Turkish State Railways has inaugurated revenue service for main phase of the Marmaray project, an initiative to connect the Asia-Europe corridor. As part of the joint venture, constructing this line, Siemens Mobility installed and commissioned the Signaling and Control system, the Communication systems as well as the SCADA system. The line connects 62 km, including 43 km on the Asian-side of the peninsula and 19 km on the European-side, to the 14 km of tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait. The line will have an overall length of 76 kilometers and allows a mixed commuter, intercity and freight service for the metropolitan area of Istanbul as well as the integration of the Gebze-Halkali section in the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed corridor, providing greater availability to those crossing continents. More than 75,000 passengers per hour at a two-minute interval during peak travel times are finding their commutes more efficient.
"The Marmaray project signifies Turkey's commitment to intelligent infrastructure that not only reduces transportation's environmental impact on the city and improves quality of life, but also better connects two continents, guaranteeing availability. Siemens Mobility is increasing efficiency and minimizing lead time on a busy continental corridor," stated Michael Peter, CEO Siemens Mobility.
The Marmaray project is one of the pillars of Turkey's ambitious railway investment plan. This phase includes the design and replacement of the rail system in the metropolitan area on both sides of the Istanbul Strait, including the centralization of the Operation Control Center in Maltepe. With its nearly 15 million inhabitants, Istanbul is one of the world's largest cities. The only previous connections between both parts of the city before the inauguration of the Marmaray tunnel crossing the Bosphorus river were provided by ferries and two bridges for road traffic. In an effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve sustainability, the government is expanding the urban transport infrastructure.
Technologically unique, the line is equipped with both ERTMS (European Railway Traffic Management System) and CBTC (Communication Based Train Control System) systems. The advanced solution provided by Siemens Mobility includes the ERTMS Futur technology already in service on the Turkish Ankara and Konya High Speed line, as well as the CBTC system in service at metros Downtown Line in Singapore.
Siemens Mobility is currently developing signaling projects in Turkey on the Bandirma-Manisa line, Samsun-Kalin, Konya-Karaman-Ulukisla, speed increase in Ankara-Konya, and recently Yerkoy-Sivas; in addition to collaborating in the technical solution of the train vacancy detection systems for the Tekirdag-Muratli lines.