Editing Marmaray (section)

== History ==
Construction started in 2004 and was originally intended to be completed by April 2009.<ref name="railwaygazette.com">[http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//rails-under-the-bosporus.html Rails under the Bosporus]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922121544/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/rails-under-the-bosporus.html|date=September 22, 2010}}, ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' February 23, 2009</ref> After multiple delays caused – among other things – by the discovery of historical and archaeological sites along the route as new stations were built, the first phase of the project was finally opened by president [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]] on October 29, 2013.<ref name="rgiopening" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/tcdd-launches-eskisehir-konya-high-speed-service/archiv/2013/maerz.html |title=TCDD launches Eskisehir – Konya high speed service|work=[[Railway Gazette International]] |date=March 28, 2013 |access-date=October 28, 2013}}</ref> The second phase of the project was scheduled to open in 2015 but work once again stopped in 2014.<ref name="railturkey.org">Uysal, Onur. [http://railturkey.org/2014/11/06/marmaray-project-delay/ "Is Marmaray Project Behind the Schedule?"], ''Rail Turkey'', November 6, 2014</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Uysal, Onur. [http://railturkey.org/2013/05/20/completely-false-facts-about-marmaray/ "Completely False Facts About Marmaray"], ''Rail Turkey'', May 20, 2013</ref> It was restarted in February 2017 and the line finally opened in its entirety on March 12, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=GEBZE-HALKALI BANLİYÖ HATTI 2018 SONUNDA HİZMETE GİRİYOR |trans-title=GEBZE-HALKALI SURFACE LINE ENTERING SERVICE AT THE END OF 2018 |url=http://www.marmaray.gov.tr/duyurudetay/Haber/GEBZE-HALKALI-BANL%C4%B0Y%C3%96-HATTI-2018-SONUNDA-H%C4%B0ZMETE-G%C4%B0R%C4%B0YOR/182 |publisher=Marmaray |date=November 18, 2018 |language=tr |access-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312225203/http://www.marmaray.gov.tr/duyurudetay/Haber/GEBZE-HALKALI-BANL%C4%B0Y%C3%96-HATTI-2018-SONUNDA-H%C4%B0ZMETE-G%C4%B0R%C4%B0YOR/182 |archive-date=March 12, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The trains came with completely new [[rolling stock]], with carriages that can be walked through from end to end.

The line can carry 75,000 passengers per hour in each direction (PPHPD).<ref name="railwaygazette.com" /><ref>[http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/ist/istanbul.htm Istanbul]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925023550/http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/ist/istanbul.htm|date=September 25, 2007}}, web page at urbanrail.net. Accessed on line September 24, 2007.</ref> Travel time from [[Halkalı railway station|Halkali]] to [[Gebze]] normally takes 104 minutes.

The Marmaray is integrated with other parts of the Istanbul public transport network, including the Metro and the Metrobus network, via a number of interchanges. It is also integrated with the [[Yüksek Hızlı Tren|YHT]] high-speed train network to [[Ankara]], [[Eskişehir]] and [[Konya]], as well as with the international trains to [[Sofia]] in [[Bulgaria]] which depart from Halkalı.

<!--is this the medieval trade route or the modern rail link?-->==Project==
The project involved building a {{convert|13.6|km|mi|adj=on}} tunnel under the [[Bosphorus]] and upgrading {{convert|63|km|mi|1}} of existing [[commuter rail|suburban railway]] lines to create a {{convert|76.6|km|mi|adj=on}} high-capacity passenger line between [[Halkalı railway station|Halkalı]] and [[Gebze railway station|Gebze]], along with the provision of 440 electric multiple unit carriages.

=== First phase ===
The contract for the project was awarded to a Japanese-Turkish consortium led by [[Taisei Corporation]] in July 2004.<ref name=rgiopening /> The consortium included [[GAMA Endustri|Gama Endustri Tesisleri Imalat ve Montaj]] and [[Nurol Holding|Nurol Construction]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/marmaray/|title=Marmaray Railway Engineering Project – Railway Technology|access-date=January 12, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Uskudar-Marmaray-station-JpTr.jpg|thumb|Plaque at the [[Üsküdar railway station]] commemorating Japanese-Turkish partnership]]

The Bosphorus (Istanbul Strait) is crossed by a {{convert|1.4|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}} earthquake-proofed [[immersed tube]], assembled from 11 sections – eight are {{convert|135|m|ft}} long, two are {{convert|98.5|m|}}, and one element is {{convert|110|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.m-hesse.com/marmaray_projekt.html |title=Marmaray Projekt: Ein Tunnel unter dem Bosporus für Istanbul |publisher=M-hesse.com |date=May 2011 |access-date=October 28, 2013 |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021090012/http://www.m-hesse.com/marmaray_projekt.html |archive-date=October 21, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Each section weighs up to 18,000 tons.<ref name="Smith, Julian">Smith, Julian. [https://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/15-09/ff_quake "The Big Dig"] ''Wired'' Sept. 2007: pages 154–61.</ref> The tube was placed {{convert|60|m|ft|0}} below sea level, beneath {{convert|55|m|ft}} of water and {{convert|4.6|m|ftin}} of earth.<ref name="Smith, Julian" /> It is accessed via tunnels bored from [[Kazlıçeşme, Zeytinburnu|Kazlıçeşme]] on the European side and [[Ayrılıkçeşmesi, Kadıköy|Ayrılıkçeşmesi]] on the Asian side of Istanbul and represents the world's deepest undersea [[immersed tube]] tunnel.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} [[Fireproofing|Fire-resistant]] [[Shotcrete|concrete]] developed in Norway was essential for the safety of the project.<ref>"[http://www.tu.no/bygg/2013/10/12/norsk-teknologi-i-verdens-dypeste-senketunnel Norwegian technology in the world's deepest immersed tunnel]" (in Norwegian) ''[[Teknisk Ukeblad]]'', October 12, 2013. Accessed: October 13, 2013. Technical report: Claus K. Larsen. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131014182833/http://svvgw.vegvesen.no/http://svvbibsys01.vegvesen.no/epublisher/document.asp?func=show&id=869&type=0&service=0 Testing of fireproofing for concrete]" [[Norwegian Public Roads Administration]], 2007.</ref>

Construction started in May 2004 and the Marmaray tunnel was completed on September 23, 2008,<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQQ/is_11_48/ai_n31009622/ Final tubes sunk on Bosphorus Tunnel], ''International Railway Journal'', November 2008.</ref> with a formal ceremony to mark its completion on October 13.<ref>[http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//marmaray-tunnel-completed.html Marmaray tunnel completed]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727041154/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/marmaray-tunnel-completed.html |date=July 27, 2010 }}, ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' October 20, 2008</ref>

[[File:Marmaray Tunnel Project.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|Path of the rail tunnel project (dotted line) within the Marmaray railway, across the Bosphorus strait]]

=== Second phase ===
The second phase of the project involved the renewal of the old suburban railway that ran between [[Halkalı railway station|Halkalı]] and [[Kazlıçeşme railway station|Kazlıçeşme]] on the European side of Istanbul and between [[Ayrılık Çeşmesi railway station|Ayrılıkçeşmesi]] and [[Gebze railway station|Gebze]] on the Asian side. The work was meant to be completed at the same time as the first phase (the tunnel and underground sections), but was delayed until March, 2019.

A third line was added to enable the [[electric multiple unit]] (EMU) cars and other railway carriages to move separately.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Thirty-six above-ground stations along the line were rebuilt or completely refurbished.<ref name="ff">[http://www.marmaray.com/html/technical.html Facts and figures]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020115125/http://www.marmaray.com/html/technical.html |date=October 20, 2007 }}, web page at the Marmaray web site. Accessed on-line September 24, 2007.</ref><ref name="tt">[http://www.marmaray.com/html/gen_travel.html Travel time and alignment]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302164438/http://marmaray.com/html/gen_travel.html |date=March 2, 2005 }}, web page at the Marmaray web site. Accessed on line, September 24, 2007.</ref> Signalling was also modernised to allow trains to travel as close as two minutes apart (although in reality far fewer trains than that actually run).

The suburban-rail upgrade part of the project, known originally as CR1, was first awarded to the AMD Rail Consortium, comprising Marubeni of Japan, Dogus Insaat of Turkey and Alstom of France.<ref name="cr3">{{cite news |date=November 3, 2011 |title=Marmaray railway upgrading contract awarded |work=[[Railway Gazette International]] |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/marmaray-upgrading-contract-awarded.html}}</ref> However, they were unable to complete the work and it was re-tendered as contract CR3 in early 2011. The replacement contract worth €932.8&nbsp;million was awarded to a joint venture between OHL and Invensys Rail.<ref name="cr3" />

[[File:Marmaray train in Bostancı station.jpg|thumb|A Marmaray train at [[Bostancı railway station|Bostancı]] station on the first day of operation of the Gebze–Halkalı line]]

=== Freight ===
In February 2010, ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' reported that the tunnel's administrators were hiring consultants to analyse options for carrying freight traffic.<ref>[http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/contracts-february-2010.html Contracts February 2010], ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' February 9, 2010</ref> The Prime Minister and other officials have suggested that the Marmaray will help to create a modern "Iron [[Silk Road]]" by allowing freight trains to travel between [[Europe]] and [[China]]. Freight trains that are not carrying [[dangerous goods]] will be able to use the tunnel when commuter services are not operating (between 1:00&nbsp;a.m. and 5:00&nbsp;a.m.).<ref>Uysal, Onur. [http://railturkey.org/2013/11/12/marmaray-connects-asia-europe/ "Is Marmaray Key for Europe-Asia Rail Connection?"], ''Rail Turkey'', November 12, 2013</ref> At other times only passenger trains will be in the tunnels.

=== Financing ===
The [[Japan International Cooperation Agency]] (JICA) and the [[European Investment Bank]] (EBI) provided much of the financing for the project. By April 2006, the JICA had lent 111&nbsp;billion yen and the EIB 1.05&nbsp;billion euro for the work. The original cost was estimated at $4.5 billion<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marmaray Railway Engineering Project |url=https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/marmaray/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=Railway Technology |language=en-US}}</ref> although it finally cost almost twice that.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Turkey's Marmaray opens in Istanbul |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkeys-marmaray-opens-in-istanbul/208260 |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref>