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Coordinates: 41°1′9.42″N 28°59′48.11″E / 41.0192833°N 28.9966972°E / 41.0192833; 28.9966972
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==The project==
==The project==
The construction contract for the project was awarded to a Japanese-Turkish consortium led by [[Taisei Corporation]]. The consortium included [[Kumagai Gumi]], [[GAMA Endustri|Gama Endustri Tesisleri Imalat ve Montaj]], [[Nurol Holding|Nurol Construction]] and Trade of Turkey.<ref>http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/marmaray/</ref>

The project includes a {{convert|13.6|km|mi}} [[Bosphorus]] crossing, the upgrade of {{convert|63|km|mi}} of [[suburban train]] lines to create a 76.3&nbsp;km high-capacity line between [[Gebze railway station|Gebze]] and [[Halkalı railway station|Halkalı]] and the provision of 440 rail cars.
The project includes a {{convert|13.6|km|mi}} [[Bosphorus]] crossing, the upgrade of {{convert|63|km|mi}} of [[suburban train]] lines to create a 76.3&nbsp;km high-capacity line between [[Gebze railway station|Gebze]] and [[Halkalı railway station|Halkalı]] and the provision of 440 rail cars.


Revision as of 12:52, 29 October 2013

Marmaray
Marmaray, the world's deepest immersed tube tunnel
Overview
LocationBosphorus
StatusUnder construction
StartFatih, Istanbul, Turkey
EndÜsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey
No. of stations41
Operation
Work begunMay 9, 2004
Technical
Length13.6 km (8.5 mi)
Line length76.3 km (47.4 mi)
No. of tracks2 single track tunnels

3 track on surface with

additional passing loops
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrified25 kV, 50 Hz AC Overhead line
Operating speed45 km/h (28 mph)
Grade18 ‰
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Marmaray is a rail transport project in Istanbul. It consists of the construction of an undersea rail tunnel under the Bosphorus strait as well as the modernization of suburban rail lines along the Sea of Marmara from Halkalı on the European side to Gebze on the Asian side. The procurement of new rolling stock for suburban passenger traffic is also part of the project.[1] Construction started in 2004, with an initial target opening date of April 2009.[1] After multiple delays, the projected opening date (as of March 2013) is October 29, 2013.[2]

The name Marmaray (Mar-ma-rai) comes from combining the name of the Sea of Marmara, which lies just south of the project site, with ray, the Turkish word for rail.

The project

The construction contract for the project was awarded to a Japanese-Turkish consortium led by Taisei Corporation. The consortium included Kumagai Gumi, Gama Endustri Tesisleri Imalat ve Montaj, Nurol Construction and Trade of Turkey.[3]

The project includes a 13.6 kilometres (8.5 mi) Bosphorus crossing, the upgrade of 63 kilometres (39 mi) of suburban train lines to create a 76.3 km high-capacity line between Gebze and Halkalı and the provision of 440 rail cars.

The Bosphorus (Istanbul Strait) will be crossed by a 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi)-long earthquake-proofed immersed tube, assembled from 11 sections, eight are 135 metres (443 ft), two are 98.5 metres (323 ft) and one element is 110 metres (360 ft) long.[4] The elements weigh up to 18,000 tons.[5] The sections will be placed down to 60 metres (197 ft) below sea level: 55 metres (180 ft) of water and 4.6 metres (15 ft) of earth.[5] This underwater tube will be accessed by bored tunnels from Kazlıçeşme on the European side and Ayrılıkçeşme on the Asian side of Istanbul. When completed, it will be the world's deepest undersea immersed tube tunnel. Fire-resistant concrete developed in Norway was crucial for the safety of the project.[6]

New underground stations will be built at Yenikapı, Sirkeci, and Üsküdar.[7] 37 other above-ground stations along the line will be rebuilt or refurbished.[7][8] The station at Yenikapi will connect with Istanbul Metro and Istanbul LRT.[9] The above-ground suburban lines will be upgraded to three tracks, two for commuter and one for long-distance/high-speed passenger trains (bi-directional). The tunnel section allows for two, bi-directional tracks to be used by commuter and long-distance trains. During off-peak hours, freight trains may also cross the tunnel. The capacity for the suburban lines is planned for 75,000 passengers per hour in each direction.[1] Signaling must also be modernized to allow trains to be as close as two minutes apart.[10] The predicted travel time from Gebze to Halkalı is 104 minutes.[7]

Construction of the Marmaray project started in May 2004. The Marmaray tunnel was completed on the 23rd of September 2008,[11] with a formal ceremony to mark completion of the tunnel on October 13.[1] Completion of the entire project has been repeatedly delayed, and as of December 2009, was expected to occur in October 2013.[12] By 29 October, the first stage of Marmaray project will end which covers the underground connection between Europe and Asia. Passengers will be able to travel between Yenikapı and İbrahimağa.[13] The second stage is the renewal of current railway on ground, between Gebze and İbrahimağa on Asian side and between Yenikapı and Halkalı on European side. A third line will added which will provide the metro and trains will move separately.

After completion, the usage of rail transportation in Istanbul is predicted to rise from 3.6% to 27.7%.[8]

In February 2010, Railway Gazette International reported that the tunnel's administrators were hiring consultants to analyse options for carrying freight traffic.[14]

Rolling stock

"Marmaray EMU"
In service2012-
ManufacturerHyundai Rotem
Family nameICR
Number under construction80
Number built360
Formation5/10 cars per train

34 trains with 10 cars

20 trains with 5 cars
OperatorsTurkish State Railways
Specifications
Floor height1300 mm
Electric system(s)25 kV, 50 Hz AC Overhead line
Current collector(s)Pantograph
Coupling systemScharfenberg
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge

Hyundai Rotem announced on November 11, 2008, that it had signed a €580m contract to supply the rolling stock for the Marmaray cross-Bosporus tunnel project in Istanbul. The Korean firm had competition from shortlisted bidders Alstom, CAF and a consortium of Bombardier, Siemens and Nurol for the 440-vehicle contract which was placed by the Ministry of Transport's General Directorate of Railways, Harbours & Airports.[15]

The 22 m long stainless steel cars will be formed into 10 and five-car EMUs. Some production will be carried out locally by Eurotem, Hyundai Rotem's joint venture with Turkish rolling stock manufacturer TÜVASAŞ. The cars will arrive in three batches, the first 160 cars by 2011, the last by June 2014.

Delays

The project is currently four years behind schedule, largely due to the discovery of a Byzantine-era archaeological find on the proposed site of the European tunnel terminal in 2005.[16] The excavations produced evidence of the city's largest harbour, the 4th-century Harbour of Eleutherios (later known as the Harbour of Theodosius).[5] There, archaeologists uncovered traces of the city wall of Constantine the Great, and the remains of several ships, including what appears to be the only ancient or early medieval galley ever discovered, preventing the project from proceeding at full speed.[17] In addition, the excavation has uncovered the oldest evidence of settlement in Istanbul, with artifacts, including amphorae, pottery fragments, shells, pieces of bone, horse skulls, and nine human skulls found in a bag, dating back to 6000 BCE.[5] Glass from several periods have also been found.[18]

The suburban rail upgrade section of the project, known originally as CR1, faltered and is undergoing a re-tendering process due to attract bids in early 2011. The original CR1 consortium (AMD Rail Consortium) consisted of Japan's Marubeni, Turkey's Dogus Insaat and France's Alstom.

Tunnel construction is only about 18 kilometres (11 mi) from the active North Anatolian Fault, worrying engineers and seismologists. "Since AD 342, it has seen large earthquakes that each claimed more than 10,000 lives."[5] Scientific calculations to estimate the probability that at some time in the next 30 years the area will suffer an earthquake of strength 7.0 or more produced an outcome of 77 percent. The waterlogged, silty soil on which the tunnel is being constructed has been known to liquefy during an earthquake; to solve this problem, engineers are injecting industrial grout down to 24 metres (79 ft) below the seabed to keep it stable.[5] The walls of the tunnel will be made of waterproof concrete coated with a steel shell, each independently watertight. The tunnel is made to flex and bend similar to the way tall buildings are constructed to react if an earthquake hits. Floodgates at the joints of the tunnel are able to close and isolate water in the event of the walls' failure.[5]

Steen Lykke, project manager for Avrasyaconsult, the international consortium that's overseeing the construction, sums it up saying, "I can't think of any challenge this project lacks".[5]

Financing

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the European Investment Bank have provided major financing for the project. As of April 2006, JICA had lent 111 billion yen and EIB 1.05 billion euro. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately 2.5 billion US dollars. As of late 2009, costs were expected to increase by approximately 500 million US dollars due to the archaeological delays.[19]

Test ride

On August 4, 2013, Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the driver for the first test ride on Marmaray. The ride started from Ayrılıkçeşme station (İbrahimağa station)[20] at the Asian side and ended at a distance of about 10 km (6.2 mi) on the European side crossing Bosporus underwater, and afterward back.[21]

It was announced that the first phase of the Marmaray project consisting of four stations will go into service on October 29, 2013, the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic. The travel time on the first section, which will connect both sides of the Bosporus, will be 19 minutes. The completion of the entire project is expected in 2015.[21]

Marmaray in numbers

File:Marmaray project.jpg
Marmaray Project (August 2008)

Some figures of the project are as follows:[21]

  • Overall length: 76.3 km (47.4 mi)
  • Tunnel section: 13.6 km (8.5 mi)
  • Immersed tube: 1,387 m (4,551 ft)
  • Deepest point: 60.46 m (198.4 ft)
  • Minimum curve radius: 300 m (980 ft)
  • Maximum gradient: %1.8
  • Surface stations: 37
  • Underground stations: 3
  • Interchanges: 4
  • Inter-city stations: 8
  • Minimum platform length: 225 m (738 ft)
  • Average station spacing: 1.9 km (1.2 mi)
  • Maximum speed: 100 km/h (62 mph)
  • Commercial speed: 45 km/h (28 mph)
  • Headway: 2–10 minutes
  • Passengers per hour and direction: 75,000
  • Number of passenger cars: 440

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rails under the Bosporus, Railway Gazette International 2009-02-23 Cite error: The named reference "railwaygazette.com" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ DVV Media Group GmbH. "News in January 2013". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  3. ^ http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/marmaray/
  4. ^ "Marmaray Projekt: Ein Tunnel unter dem Bosporus für Istanbul". M-hesse.com. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Smith, Julian. "The Big Dig" Wired Magazine. Sept. 2007: pages 154–61.
  6. ^ "Norwegian technology in the world's deepest immersed tunnel" (in Norwegian) Teknisk Ukeblad, 12 October 2013. Accessed: 13 October 2013. Technical report: Claus K. Larsen. "Testing of fireproofing for concrete" 'Norwegian Public Roads Administration, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c Facts and figures, web page at the Marmaray web site. Accessed on-line September 24, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Travel time and alignment, web page at the Marmaray web site. Accessed on line, 24 September 2007.
  9. ^ Istanbul Metro and LRT, web page at the Marmaray web site. Accessed on-line September 24, 2007.
  10. ^ Istanbul, web page at urbanrail.net. Accessed on line September 24, 2007.
  11. ^ Final tubes sunk on Bosphorus Tunnel, International Railway Journal, November 2008.
  12. ^ Marmaray completion delayed to 2013, cost increases by $500 mln, Today's Zaman 2009-12-19
  13. ^ Name (2013-05-20). "Completely False Facts About Marmaray". Rail Turkey. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  14. ^ Contracts February 2010, Railway Gazette International 2010-02-09
  15. ^ Marmaray train contract signed, Railway Gazette International 2008-11-14
  16. ^ Tunnel links continents, uncovers ancient history CNN
  17. ^ Rose, Mark. "Under Istanbul". Archaeology.org. Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2008-10-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Nautical archaeology takes a leap forward, The Times, 31 December 2007
  18. ^ Üzlifat Canav-Özgümüş. "Recent glass finds in Istanbul" Dogus University, September 2012. Accessed: 13 October 2013.
  19. ^ Marmaray completion delayed to 2013, cost increases by $500 mln, Today Zaman 2009-12-19
  20. ^ "Marmaray'ın güzergahı değişebilir". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  21. ^ a b c "Başbakan Erdoğan Marmaray'da test sürüşü yaptı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marmaray.

41°1′9.42″N 28°59′48.11″E / 41.0192833°N 28.9966972°E / 41.0192833; 28.9966972

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