The foundation of Çerkezköy-Kapıkule Section of the Halkalı-Kapıkule High Speed Railway Line Project was laid with a ceremony held in Edirne.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Elm Historic Train Station Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan, "Ring-Speed Railway Line Project Kapıkule geographically symbolizes the binding Turkey to the EU." said.
three continents as Turkey, linking a very important geo-strategic and geopolitical position they are expressing Turhan owners of Turkey and Asia and the Middle East that is both Mediterranean and Black Sea countries in Europe, Turkey's exports that more than 50 percent of Europe he underlined.
Turhan, "Direct investment of more than 67 percent are from Europe to Turkey. For Europe, Turkish manufacturers are an important part of the production and supply chain. It is possible to carry all of this to a higher level, which can only be achieved through a fair, stable approach. Also turmoil that have lived in the world obliges the EU to act more together with Turkey. " he spoke.
“We will connect to Trans-European Transport Networks in high quality”
Turkey and Turhan explained that historical responsibility to develop relations between the European Union, the railway line will be laid today the foundation has insisted he will further strengthen relations with the EU.
Stating that the final phase of high-quality connection to Trans-European Transport Networks will be completed with the Halkalı-Kapıkule high-speed railway line being put into service, Turhan continued his speech as follows:
"In Turkey, ensuring the highest standards of European integration of transport networks, always been among our priorities. Here, with the commissioning of the Halkalı-Kapıkule Railway Line, the final stage of high quality connection to the Trans-European Transport Networks will be completed. Due to the location of our country connecting Europe to Asia and the Far East, the fact that it is at the focal point of trade routes between Europe and Africa for the growing Asian economies makes the construction of this line much more important.
“It is also very meaningful that the line will contribute to the One Belt One Road Project, which aims to create a huge infrastructure and transportation network by connecting China, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. We have accomplished great works in our country, in the east-west and north-south axis recently, for the "Middle Corridor" of this project, as we call it, the "Modern Silk Road" to come to life. For this reason, we have approached the implementation of the Iron Silk Road from London to Beijing as a strategic issue from the very beginning. We have clearly demonstrated our support and belief in this project with the Marmaray and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway line that we put into service. ”
Minister Turhan underlined that the Halkalı-Kapıkule Railway Line Project is a project that has been worked on for a long time in cooperation with the European Union, and also said the following:
“A significant amount of time, effort and work has been spent on all levels, both by Turkey and the European Union. With the line coming into service, everyone will benefit as commercial mobility will reach serious levels. In addition to its budget size and technical features, the Halkalı-Kapıkule High Speed Railway Line Project, with its route extending from our country’s Bulgarian border to Istanbul, also symbolizes Turkey’s geographical connection to the EU.”
“275 Million Euro EU Grant”
“For the construction of Çerkezköy-Kapıkule Section of the Halkalı-Kapıkule High Speed Railway Line Project, which we will lay the foundation for, a new record will be set by using 275 million Euros of EU grant. The workforce that will be needed during the construction works, which will last about 4 years, will be supplied from the region, as in our other projects.
