Izmit opens Akçaray tram line

THE first modern light rail line in the Turkish city of Izmit was inaugurated on June 17, when Turkey’s defence minister Mr Fikri Işık, the governor of Kocaeli province Mr Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu, and the mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mr Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu attended the opening of the 7.2km east-west Akçaray line from Otogar to Seka ferry terminal.

Passengers will be able to travel on the line free-of-charge until the start of full commercial operations on July 15.

Durmazlar, Turkey, has supplied 12 bidirectional low-floor LRVs for the project. The 33m-long five-section vehicles are 2.65m wide and have a maximum speed of 80km/h.