Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 29 /Trend, R. Hafizoglu/
The Marmaray railway project is an indicator of a developing economy and democracy in Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the opening of the tunnel, TRT Haber TV channel reported on Tuesday.
According to Erdogan, realization of the Marmaray project once again proves that it is possible to attain serious economic achievements thanks to the stability in the country.
He also underscored that the Marmaray railway project is a global project.
The Marmaray railway tunnel that connects the Asian and European parts of Turkey has been officially opened today.
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.
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.
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.
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 also neighbouring countries.