The Ankara-Sivas high-speed train (YHT) line project is on schedule and will begin operation on April 28, following the Ramadan Bayram holiday, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu announced Tuesday.

Karaismailoğlu stated that the train line, capable of traveling at 250 kph (155.34 mph), will reduce the distance between Ankara and Sivas from 603 kilometers (374.69 miles) to 405 kilometers, with a travel time of just two hours. Similarly, the distance between Ankara and Yozgat will decrease to one hour.

Within the scope of the project, a total of eight stations, including Elmadağ, Kırıkkale, Yerköy, Yozgat, Sorgun, Akdağmadeni, Yıldızeli and Sivas, will be operational, providing approximately 1.4 million people living in Kırıkkale, Yozgat and Sivas provinces the opportunity to travel by high-speed train.

Thus far, 49 tunnels with a total length of 66 kilometers, 49 viaducts stretching 27.2 kilometers, the longest tunnel of the project located in the Akdağmadeni region with 5,125 meters (16,814.30 feet), and a railway viaduct in Çerikli-Kırıkkale with 2,220 meters with the highest pillars of 88.6 meters in Elmadağ, Ankara, have been completed. Notably, domestic rail was also used for the first time in this project.

Hakan Demirgil, the chairperson of the Sivas Chambers of Craftsmen, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they are eagerly anticipating the YHT lines with excitement, hopeful that it will promote both local and foreign tourism while making a significant contribution to the economy of Sivas and Yozgat.

Meanwhile, Yozgat Mayor Celal Köse stated that the high-speed train will help residents of Yozgat in Ankara and will contribute significantly to both nature and thermal tourism. He welcomed people from all over to come and spend their quality time away from the city's hustle and bustle in Türkiye's first national park (Çamlık National Park) in Yozgat, which boasts a refreshing breeze at Bozok Plateau.

With a travel time of just 55 minutes, the YHT will also be an important service for students and faculty members of Bozok University and the doctors working in Ankara, according to Köse.

Kırıkkale Mayor Mehmet Saygılı stated that the high-speed train is one of the city's hopes, believing that the Ankara-Sivas YHT Line will bring significant value to Kırıkkale by attracting many Ankara investors to Türkiye's first Arms Specialized Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ).

The high-speed train line is projected to revitalize tourism, the economy and social life in the provinces of Sivas, Yozgat and Kırıkkale along the route.