Turkey to boost railway investments

Turkey will invest more than 5.5 billion lira in its transportation projects, according to the country’s 2014 budget. The Turkish government will allocate around 3.5 billion lira to Turkish state railways, and around 2 billion lira to the Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications, for its railway investments.   Turkish State Railways (TCDD) will invest almost half of its 2014 budget (1.8 billion lira) in high-speed train projects, according to the company’s budget program. Turkey's Transportation Minister announced last month that Turkey will develop its own high-speed train line, which will be completed in 2018. Turkey increased its investments on transportation as part of its “2023 Vision” program, which aims to celebrate the country’s 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic by developing significant projects, such as building 11 thousand kilometers of new railway and expanding high-speed train networks.