The first passenger train between Konya and Karaman will start commercial service at the end of 2016.
The Konya – Karaman railway section was closed for passenger services in June 2014 due to engineering works. The section will be ready for conventional passenger trains by the end of this year. The first high speed train will have to wait for 2017 to enter commercial service.
The line is being upgraded to double-track system, new signalling system is being deployed and electrification works are being executed in order to have the capacity of a high speed line. All level crossings on this section are being upgraded to under or overpasses.
The new line will contribute to the transport of industrial commodities to Mersin Port through Adana but it will also increase passenger mobility to and from the region with railways.
The new Konya – Karaman Fast Line is the first phase of the Konya – Adana Fast Line, along the South axis. Planned to be completed in 16 months, the Konya-Karaman line is going to be integrated with the Konya – Ankara High Speed Line (HSL) and thus with the Ankara – İstanbul HSL and will be used for both freight and passenger transport at a line speed of 200 km/h. Upon completion, the historical city of Karaman, which dates back to circa 8000 B.C., will be connected to Konya with a travel time of around 40 minutes, to Ankara with a travel time of two hours 10 minutes, to Eskişehir with a travel time of two hours 50 minutes and to Istanbul with a travel time of four hours.
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