On Wednesday, the Turkish capital Ankara welcomed the integration of the three-station AKM-Gar-Kızılay metro line, considered a key point in the city's metro line infrastructure, capable of carrying 600,000 passengers daily, according to officials.
The completion of the 3.3-kilometer (2.88-mile) metro line between the Atatürk Culture Center (AKM) and the central district in Ankara, Kızılay, will add to the existing metro connections in the capital, bringing the total length to 44.5 kilometers, said Infrastructure and Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu during his inspections on Tuesday.
During his inspections, Karaismailoğlu said that works in the disaster region continued intensively after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, while the projects that were under construction throughout Türkiye were completed quickly.
He also reiterated that the number of railways has grown with the commissioning of Ankara-Eskişehir, Ankara-Istanbul and Ankara-Konya high-speed train lines into service, adding that the ministry has invested over TL 330 billion (around $17.1 billion) in transportation and infrastructure in Ankara since 2003.
The minister highlighted the significance of the project, as the new line will enable direct metro transportation from Keçiören to Kızılay.
"The line will serve with vehicles capable of traveling at 80 kph (49.7 mph) and serve 600,000 passengers a day. Starting from the first station (Gar), our citizens will be able to reach YHT Gar and from there connect to Başkentray and Ankaray," the minister explained.
He also said that from the second station, it will be possible to link to the M1 line and Başkenteray, while the last station, Kızılay, will offer the possibility to connect to Batıkent Metro, Çayyolu Metro and Ankaray Metro.
Emphasizing that a modern YHT station that will meet the needs of the era was constructed in Ankara, the minister reiterated that the work on the Ankara-Sivas High-Speed Railway Line construction was close to ending, with opening scheduled for the upcoming days.
He also said that the work on the Ankara-Izmir line, which will reduce the travel time between Ankara and Izmir from 14 hours to 3.5 hours, continues rapidly.
During the opening ceremony of the AKM-Gar-Kızılay metro line on Wednesday, the minister said they are proud and happy to reap the fruits of transportation investments they have implemented in accordance with their employment, production and export-focus strategies.
"We are paving the way for the future, paving the way for Türkiye," Karaismailoğlu said. He also reiterated the good news President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered on Tuesday, stating that with the plans of the Ankara-Istanbul ultra-high-speed train line, "the journey between Kızılay (Ankara) and Kadıköy (Istanbul) is set to reduce to 80 minutes."
The minister also noted that in addition to the newly opened metro line, the AKM station offers a parking lot with a closed area of 22,000 square meters (236,806 square feet) with a capacity to store 335 vehicles.