TURKEY: The General Directorate for Infrastructure Investments has announced details of the first stage of the long-mooted Trabzon light rail project.
The first phase has a target opening date of 2028. it would be a 15·5 km double track route running along the seafront from the city’s main motorway access in the west to the airport in the east. There will be 16 stops with 70 m platforms, serving locations including at the main hospital, the stadium of local football team Trabzonspor, the city centre, the university and the airport. The line is to be designed for speeds of up to 70 km/h.
Speaking in August, Turkey’s Transport & Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said funding for the first phase would be included in Turkey’s 2026 investment programme.
Previous statements by the municipality have indicated that the light rail line is likely to be operated as part of the city’s existing municipal transport system.
A second phase is also envisaged, which would more than double the length of the route to 32 km with 56 stops. The extended line would stretch from Akçaabat in the west, through the city centre via the university and the port and then east as far as Yomra.
Trabzon is not currently served by Turkey’s main line rail network, although feasibility studies for a connection have been underway for some time. These envisage a 509 km high speed electrified line along the Black Sea coast, which woud run from Samsun to Sarp on the border with Georgia via Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Rize and Artvin.