Marmaray

Marmaray Web-site
Mavi Boncuk |
Marmaray is an undersea rail tunnel being constructed to link the European and Asian sections of Istanbul, running under the Bosphorus strait. When completed, it will be the world's deepest undersea immersed tube tunnel. The name Marmaray (Marmarail) 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. Three underground stations up to 50m deep provide access to the tunnel section. The project includes a 13.6 kilometres (8.5 mi) Bosphorus crossing and the upgrade of 63 kilometres (39 mi) of suburban train lines to create a 76.3 km high-capacity line between Gebze and Halkalı. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the European Investment Bank have provided major financing for the project. As of April 2006, JBIC had lent 111 billion yen and EIB 1.05 billion euros. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately 2.5 billion euros.