The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Adil Karaismailoglu, announced that the third tunnel that will connect the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, which was officially called the “Istanbul Grand Tunnel”, will be operational in 2028.
The minister indicated on Wednesday that the tunnel, which is scheduled to open in 2028, will be able to serve 1.3 million passengers per day, noting that the project will be one of the symbols of the “Century of Turkey” vision presented by the government last October.
The minister stressed the importance of the project, pointing out that after the construction of the Marmaray-Eurasia Tunnel, the “Great Istanbul Tunnel” will represent the third crossing under the Bosphorus Strait.
In addition, Karaismailoglu emphasized that according to the data of the Istanbul Transportation Master Plan, the number of people crossing between the European and Asian sides, which currently exceeds 2 million on a daily basis, is expected to exceed 3 million per day in the future.
“As always, we are working proactively on developing plans to prevent any future problems arising from increased traffic,” he added.
The minister indicated that in addition to the crossing between the two sides, there will be a high-capacity railway system, serving from west to east of Istanbul, noting that the new Bosphorus tunnel planned as the “Sogutlu Cesme – Incirli” metro line will extend from the Kadikoy region on the Asian side. To the Bakirkoy area on the European side of the city.
The “Istanbul Grand Tunnel” will extend with a total length of 28 km and will consist of 13 stations within the metro project, which will serve a total of 1.3 million passengers per day when it is operational in 2028. The project is expected to have a capacity to serve 70,000 passengers per hour in one direction.
The minister explained that the total travel time on the new track will be 42 minutes, and said that it will integrate with 11 other railways, and will also enable the Metrobus line, which is the backbone of Istanbul’s transportation system, to operate optimally in terms of capacity.
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