The Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme Rail System Line has been opened to the service of Istanbul. The veteran suburban railway line, which holds a place in Istanbul's memory, has been rebuilt with modern infrastructure, bringing together history, the environment, technology, and social life with the people of Istanbul. The line was put into service with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
''Today, we are not only easing the transportation in our city but also commemorating a significant historical event with the opening ceremony. The Kazlıçeşme-Sirkeci rail system is one of the oldest railways in our country. Taking into account the needs of Istanbul, we have decided to put this 8.3-kilometer line, which has been idle between Sirkeci and Kazlıçeşme, back into operation. We aimed to revitalize it with necessary improvements and changes, presenting a brand new design to Istanbul. In this way, we wanted to offer our Istanbulite brothers and sisters both a railway-focused and pedestrian-friendly, environmentally friendly project.''
''5 years went to waste. Why wasn't anything done? Here, from Sirkeci to where we are now, all the buildings are in ruins. The walls are in ruins. We will hopefully rebuild all of these. Today, we are experiencing the joy of achieving our goal. Within the scope of our project, there are 7.3 kilometers of pedestrian paths, 7.3 kilometers of bicycle paths, 122,550 square meters of squares and recreational areas, 6,000 square meters of closed social-cultural areas, 74,000 square meters of new green areas, and 14 pedestrian crossings and 13 road crossings. In other words, we will hopefully provide our city with an extremely modern transportation project that includes not only a rail system but also socio-cultural, tourism, sports, leisure, cycling, and other facilities. With the opening of this line, the total length of completed rail system networks in Istanbul will reach 340 kilometers.''
''We estimate that the total contribution of the Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme rail system line to the economy over the next 30 years will be 785 million euros. I wish the Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme rail system line, which constitutes one of the most beautiful examples of our new generation transportation projects, to be beneficial to our country, city, district, and nation.
''I sincerely congratulate our ministry, Minister of Transport, and his team, who have contributed to the realization of this line in Istanbul. I congratulate our contractor company, as well as everyone who has contributed, from engineers to workers, from the bottom of my heart.'' Erdoğan said.
