Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 5
Rufiz Hafizoglu-Trend: The functioning of the Marmaray tunnel after its recent commissioning has been suspended eight times, Turkish Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications Binali Yildirim said, TRT Haber TV Channel reported on Tuesday.
According to him it was not due to technical problems, but to control work.
The minister noted that the Marmaray tunnel fully meets international standards.
The Marmaray rail tunnel that connects the Eastern and European parts of Turkey was commissioned on October 29.
The official opening ceremony was attended by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications Binali Yildirim, Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as representatives of the governments of Afghanistan, Georgia, Bulgaria and Romania.
According to the statement, the length of the tunnel is 13.6 kilometres. Trains will depart every two minutes. The transport capacity for each direction will be about 1.2 million passengers per day.
It was earlier reported that this is the only project of its kind allowing the transport of both passengers and cargo through one tunnel.
After commissioning the tunnel, the volume of rail transport in Istanbul will increase by 20 per cent, up to 28 per cent of the total transit volume.
It should be noted that the Marmaray railway project will serve passengers free of charge within 15 days from the date of opening.
Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Marmaray project will be one of the most powerful projects in the region.
In addition, it was reported that Turkish Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications Binali Yildirim said that the Marmaray tunnel will contribute to the development of not only Turkey, but neighbouring countries.