Turkiye has reached a preliminary agreement with six international financial institutions to obtain USD 6.75 billion in external financing for the construction of a new railway line that will cross northern Istanbul, connecting the metropolis’s main logistics and airport hubs.
According to Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, the Istanbul North Rail Crossing project will become the largest railway project in Turkiye financed from external sources.
A new Asia-Europe rail axis
The new line will be 125 km long and will connect Gebze, Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Istanbul Airport, and Halkali, creating a strategic rail axis on the northern side of the city.
The Bosphorus crossing will be via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which will provide a direct rail link between Istanbul’s two major airports for the first time.
The project includes extensive engineering works: Authorities estimate that the line will carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually.
- 44 tunnels, with a total length of 59.1 km;
- 42 bridges, totaling 22.4 km.
Minister Uraloglu said the new infrastructure will “open a new era in logistics” by increasing Turkiye’s rail capacity between Asia and Europe.
Massive international financing
The financing scheme involves: The Turkish minister said that preparations for the tender are underway, and the goal is to complete the procedure and start work this year.
- World Bank
- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- Islamic Development Bank
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
- OPEC Fund for International Development
Alternative to Marmaray
Currently, rail traffic across the Bosphorus is handled by the Marmaray tunnel, but its capacity is limited, and freight transport is only allowed at certain times of the day.
According to data from the Ministry of Transport, between 2020 and October 2025, approximately 1.7 million tons of freight were transported through Marmaray — a modest volume compared to the target of the new line.
The new line would reduce pressure on Marmaray, with the diversion of both freight and passenger traffic significantly increasing transport capacity between the continents.
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