The first underwater rail link between two continents officially opens.
With its nearly 15 million inhabitants, Istanbul is one the world’s largest cities and the only previous connections between both parts of the city were provided by ferries and two bridges for road traffic. In an effort to reduce chronic traffic congestion and the associated environmental impact, the government is massively expanding the urban transport infrastructure. A railway tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait has been opened in Turkey, creating a new link between the Asian and European shores of Istanbul. Marmaray is an immersed tube set in the sea bed built by Japan’s Taisei Corp. with Turkish partner Nurol and Gama. This link has now made possible of a train link between London and Beijing. The tunnel is 60m m below and 13.6 Km long with 1.4 km underwater. It has been built on an expenditure of 4 billion dollars equivalent to 24000Crs Indian Rupee. It will serve 16 million passenger with almost 20 lakh passenger travelling per day ( 75000 passenger/hour).
Marmaray Rail Line