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Marmaray journeys briefly interrupted on first day

Türkiye Materials 30 October 2013 12:57 (UTC +04:00)
Marmaray journeys briefly interrupted on first day
Marmaray journeys briefly interrupted on first day

Marmaray journeys temporarily interrupted due to power blackout this morning, on the first day after its glorious ceremony held yesterday Hurriyetdailynews reported.

The journeys at the underwater rail tunnel linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul were canceled for a short period of time after the blackout, which erupted around 8.00 a.m.

With the fixation of the problem, currently the Marmaray journeys are continuing without any problem.

The much-anticipated transportation project was opened yesterday with a ceremony attended by Turkish leaders as well as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Somali President Hasan Sheikh Mahmud and a number of foreign civil servants.

Despite the government and Istanbul municipality's strong confidence in the Marmaray, which they dub as "the project of the century," it has been the target of mounting criticism that it is being hastily rushed into service without proper safety checks.

The Chamber of Architects and Engineers (TMMOB) had said the part of the project that would be opened in the first stage has no active electronic safety system, in the warning it issued.

The organization had also said the tubes of underwater tunnel were at risk of ruptures which could allow water to fill the tunnel.

Mostly, the project's durability in the event of an earthquake has been questioned, as the Marmara region is a major earthquake zone.

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