Türkiye signs with World Bank to finance major Istanbul rail crossing project

Türkiye signed a €1.67 billion ($1.9 billion) financing agreement with the World Bank on Wednesday for the Istanbul North Rail Crossing (INRAIL) project, aimed at strengthening intercontinental trade routes.

The agreement was signed by Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and Anna Bjerde, managing director of operations at the World Bank, during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.

Simsek said the deal is the third-largest project ever approved by the World Bank, adding that the overall project is backed by $8.1 billion in total financing, about 83% of which comes from international institutions.

"This deal provides financing, strengthens standards and sends a clear signal of confidence to global markets," he said.

The INRAIL project involves the construction of a 127-kilometer (78.9-mile) electrified high-capacity railway line crossing the Bosphorus Strait via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, bypassing the Istanbul metropolitan area.

It is expected to significantly increase freight and passenger rail capacity, reduce logistics costs, connect Istanbul's two airports to each other and to the national rail network, and enhance key national and intercontinental transport corridors.

Once operational, it is expected to increase annual rail freight capacity across the strait from 3 million tons to 50 million tons.

Simsek added that the INRAIL project will remove one of the "most critical bottlenecks" along the Middle Corridor, which is the fastest trade route connecting Beijing to London, with a transit time of just 18 days.

"INRAIL is more than an ordinary railway connection," he said.

He added that the project will create higher-income employment for over 400,000 workers.

Bjerde said the agreement will strengthen Türkiye's connectivity with Europe, Asia and the Middle East, boosting regional and global trade.

She added that the project's economic impact will extend to the manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors.

Türkiye's transport infrastructure development has attracted $355 billion in investment over the past two decades, including $180 billion in road projects, as well as expansion of the airport network.

Railways are the next focus for expansion, with the World Bank playing a key role in these efforts.