Proceedings of the 13th Meeting of the
Transport and Communications Working Group
23
technical specifications, design and implementation principles are revised and technical criteria
are updated.
Ms. TAVŞANOĞLU continued her presentation by touching upon the cornerstone projects
realized under the supervision of the Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey. First, she gave
some information about the Marmaray Project. She expressed that the Marmaray Project is the
prestige project of Turkey which connects Asia and Europe and provides continuous railway
from Pekin to London. The Project includes upgrading of a commuter system at Asian and
European sides in İstanbul and construction of its central element is a railway tunnel under the
Bosphorus. She stated that the Ministry has worked with three separate contracts to realize this
Marmaray Project as followings;
 Contract BC1: Constructing ~1.4 Km immersed tube tunnel under the Bosphorus with
12. 2 Km approaching tunnels and 3 underground and 2 at-grade stations. (Üsküdar,
Sirkeci, Yenikapı & Kazlıçeşme)
 Contract CR3: Upgrading the 62.7 Km existing at-grade commuter rail system with
completely new electrical and mechanical systems including the installation of a new
third track for the inter-city railway system. 38 at-grade stations have been designed in
accordance with the international metro station standards.
 Contract CR2: Provision of 440 train cars for CR operations (Fixed fleet consist of 10-
car, 5-car, and 2 coupled 5-car EMU (Electrical Multiple Unit) trainsets).
Concerning the historical background of the Marmaray Project, Ms. TAVŞANOĞLU mentioned
that the Marmaray Project is not the first project conceived for an underwater crossing of the
Bosphorus. The idea was first introduced in the Ottoman Empire in 1860 during the reign of
Sultan Abdulmecid. A preliminary design was prepared for a submerged tube through the sea
that rests on columns. Similar ideas were produced during the following years and in 1902,
during the reign of Sultan II Abdulhamit, a design similar to the first one was produced for a tube
tunnel that crosses the Bosphorus(Tünel-i Bahrî). However, the means of the time and
technology did not permit the construction of this Project.
Furthermore, she explained that in 1985 the first transport and feasibility study for the
Bosphorus Railway Tunnel Crossing were prepared. In 1995, the transport feasibility studies
were updated with the aimof renewing the existing commuter lines between Gebze-Haydarpaşa
and Sirkeci-Halkalı, increasing their capacity and integrating them with the Bosphorus Railway
Tunnel Crossing, thereby providing a wide-reaching public transport system. This approach
formed the basis of the Marmaray Project. In 1999, a loan agreement between Turkey and the
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was signed for the Marmaray Project, and in
2000 with a Cabinet Decision, the project was entered in the investment program.