Nurdağı Tunnel

Nurdağı Tunnel
Overview
Other name(s)Fevzipaşa bypass
LineMersin-Gaziantep railway
LocationBetween Bahçe and Nurdağı, Turkey
StatusUnder construction
SystemTurkish State Railways
CrossesNur Mountains, near the Bahçe pass
Operation
Work begun2014[1]
Opened2024 (Scheduled)
OwnerTurkish State Railways
CharacterMountain tunnel
Technical
Length9,950 m (32,640 ft)[2][3]
No. of tracks2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Electrified25 kV, 50 Hz
Operating speed120 km/h (75 mph)[4]
Route map
km
Adana-Aleppo railway
to Adana
0
Bahçe
D400-TR.svg D.400
Bahçeşehir
Nurdağı Tunnel
Fevzipaşa-Kurtalan railway
to Kurtalan
Nurdağı
Ayran Tunnel
Fevzipaşa
Adana-Aleppo railway
to İslahiye

The Nurdağı Tunnel (Turkish: Nurdağı Tüneli) is a 9,950 m (32,640 ft) long twin-tube railway tunnel, currently under construction in southern Turkey. Passing through the Nur Mountains, near the east end of the Amanian Gate, it will carry passenger and freight trains along with high-speed trains, as part of the Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep high-speed railway.[4] Upon completion, it will become the longest railway tunnel in Turkey, surpassing the 5,473 m (17,956 ft) long Deliktaş Tunnel in Sivas.[2]

The Nurdağı Tunnel will also relive a cumbersome bottleneck caused by the original alignment of the Baghdad Railway. Trains passing through the Nur Mountains use the Ayran Tunnel to Fevzipaşa, where the junction with the Fevzipaşa-Kurtalan railway is. However the alignment of the tracks only allows access from the south; meaning trains must stop at Fevzipaşa and the locomotive must reverse directions before continuing north through the junction. Since the construction of a wye or loop is not possible, due to the steep terrain, the maneuvers at Fevzipaşa greatly hamper transit times on Turkey's busiest freight corridor. The Nurdağı Tunnel will bypass Fevzipaşa altogether, with a direct route from Bahçe, on the Adana-Aleppo railway, to Nurdağı, on the Fevzipaşa-Kurtalan railway. Due to this bypass, the tunnel has also been named the Fevzipaşa bypass (Turkish: Fevzipaşa varyantı). The entire length of the bypass (including the tunnel) is about 17 km (11 mi).[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Türkiye'nin En Uzun Demiryolu Tünelinin 10 Km'si Bitti". rayhaber.com (in Turkish). 21 February 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep Hızlı Tren Projesi". tcdd.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Türkiye'nin en uzun demir yolu tünelinde sona doğru". aa.com.tr (in Turkish). 6 January 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Türkiye'nin en uzun demiryolu tüneli inşaa ediliyor". tr.railwayturkey.org (in Turkish). 29 January 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2023.