Turkey plans railway along its eastern Black Sea coast

TURKEY: The Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure has taken the first step towards development of a 500 km main line railway along the east of the country’s Black Sea coast between Samsun and the border with Georgia. The proposed route would run via the port cities of Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon and Rize before heading inland to Artvin and then back to the coast to reach the Sarp Border Gate near the Georgian port of Batumi.

The ministry has invited domestic and international companies to prequalify for a contract to survey and design potential alignments. Up to 10 eligible companies are to be invited to bid in the formal tender process.

The successful bidder will be required to determine the best geographical corridor for the railway and the optimal route within that corridor, taking into account factors including transport requirements, geological and geotechnical suitability, environmental impact, and land, construction and future operating and maintenance costs. The work would be required to be completed within 720 days.

The line is one of a number of railway projects planned for Turkey’s East Black Sea region which to date has no rail infrastructure.

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