Deutsche Welle, 29 October 2013
Turkey is
about to unveil a railway tunnel linking its European and Asian sides under the
Bosporus for the first time. Its completion marks the realization of a
long-cherished plan.
The
three-billion-euro ($4.13-billion) rail tunnel is 13.6 kilometers (8.5 miles)
long, 1.4 kilometers of which lie under the Bosporus, the strait dividing
Istanbul between Asia and Europe.
Its name,
the Marmaray Tunnel, combines that of the Sea of Marmara, which lies just south
of the site, with the Turkish word for rail, "ray."
The tunnel
is designed to accommodate 1.5 million passengers per day, thus easing traffic
problems in Turkey's largest city, particularly over the two bridges that
currently connect the two sides of the city.
Two million
people cross the Bosporus each day on the bridges, often creating massive
congestion.
Turkish
officials say that the rail tunnel is more than 60 meters (nearly 200 feet)
under water, making it the deepest of its kind in the world.
The tunnel
is one of a large number of infrastructure projects undertaken by the
government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While seen as boosting the
economy, they have also aroused some public protest from people who say the
urban development is forcing people from their homes and destroying green
spaces.
Archeological
delays
Construction
of the tunnel began in 2004 and was originally scheduled to take four years.
However, a number of important archeological finds - including a cemetery of
some 30 Byzantine ships - delayed its completion. Some 40,000 objects were
salvaged from the site.
Ottoman
Sultan Abdulmejid is said to have first proposed building a tunnel under the
Bosporus a century and a half ago. However, at the time, technology was not
sufficiently advanced to carry out the project.
Erdogan
revived the plan in 2004.
More
projects planned
The prime
minister is planning to carry out several more infrastructure projects in the
future, including a separate tunnel under the Bosporus for road vehicles, a
third bridge over it, the world's biggest airport and a massive canal bypassing
the waterway.
Tuesday's
ceremony to inaugurate the tunnel coincides with the 90th anniversary of the
founding of the Turkish Republic.
The
occasion will be attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose country
has been heavily involved in the construction and financing of the project.
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