Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE MARMARAY PROJECT
İstanbul's serious traffic congestion. Its name comes from combining the name of the Sea of Mar-
mara, which lies just south of the project site, with
ray
, the Turkish word for rail.
The project will see the Halkali-Sirkeci rail line, which runs alongside the historical peninsula's
coastline, going underground at Yedikule and travelling to a huge underground transport hub at
Yenikapı before continuing to Sirkeci and then on to a 5km tunnel being built under the Bosphorus.
This will link the historical peninsula with another new underground transport hub in Üsküdar on the
Asian side of the city. From there, the rail line will return to ground level at Söğütlüçeşme, 2km east
of Kadıköy, where it will connect with the Gebze Anatolian rail line.
The project's original completion date was to be 2010, but important archaeological finds made
during excavation works have slowed the process down. These include the site of a Byzantine har-
bour complete with wooden boats at Yenikapı and an ancient port and bazaar at Üsküdar. It's now
hoped that the project will be completed in June 2015.
