Turkiye opens new high-speed rail line between two central provinces

Turkiye has opened a high-speed rail line between two of its central provinces in a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan spoke at the event on Saturday in Turkiye's Karaman province, roughly 100 kilometres southwest of the line's other terminus in Konya.

According to the president, Turkiye had renewed nearly all of the rail lines previously built since the days of the Ottoman Empire, totalling nearly 11,000 kilometres.

He said with the additional railways built over the past two decades, this figure has risen to over 13,000 kilometres.

Erdogan also said there were plans to extend the country's newest rail line further east to the southern province of Osmaniye, over 260 kilometres.

Other lines under construction

He also noted efforts to make another ongoing railway line from the capital Ankara to the eastern Sivas province an "international route" by extending it to the country's eastern border.

A separate high-speed line that will connect Istanbul to the Kapikule border crossing with Bulgaria will also be "very important, especially for our exports" Erdogan said.

The event also marked the opening of a medical and dental faculty in Karaman, as well as public housing.

Erdogan later attended a meeting of the Justice and Development (AK) Party's provincial advisory council, where he announced that the Konya-Karaman line would provide free service for a week.

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