The much-awaited high-speed train for Istanbul’s shiny new international airport (IST) has been put on its rails for the first time, and will undergo its first test run at the end of September.
The train, which will run on the yet-to-be-completed M11 line, will run from the new airport to the Gayrettepe interchange where travellers will be able to join the rest of Istanbul’s metro system.
Unlike other trains on the metro system which are limited to 80 kph (50 mph), the Airport-Gayrettepe line will run at 120 kph (74 mph), meaning that it will complete the 37.5 km journey from the airport to the terminus in a mere 35 minutes, including setting down at the new Göktürk, Kemerburgaz, Hasdal, and Kâğıthane stations.
When complete – currently slated for later in the year, but suffering from delays, not least of the pandemic – the line will carry up to 600,000 passengers per day.
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