The New Era in Marmaray Begins! The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure announced a new phase for Marmaray. Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan reported the latest arrangement for Marmaray: to meet the rising passenger demand, TCDD Taşımacılık General Directorate has extended the suburban inner-loop services that previously ran between Zeytinburnu and Söğütlüçeşme so that, at 8-minute intervals, they now continue to Maltepe.
Minister Turhan emphasized that the Marmaray project, which has been in service since 29 October 2013, continues to attract strong public interest. He noted that operations cover a 76-kilometre corridor between Gebze and Halkalı, serving 285 scheduled trips. Services are planned with passenger volumes in mind, and he underlined that public demand for Marmaray keeps increasing.
To address the high passenger demand, Turhan explained that TCDD Taşımacılık carried out an operational change: from Monday, 2 March 2020, the inner-loop suburban trains that ran between Zeytinburnu and Söğütlüçeşme were extended to Maltepe, and the headway on those trains was reduced to 8 minutes. As a result, the inner-loop suburban services operating between Zeytinburnu and Maltepe gained an additional nine stations on their route. This expansion allows roughly 60,000 passengers to travel without transferring.
Car Use Drops Thanks to Marmaray
Reduced car use as a result of Marmaray! Minister Turhan noted that this adjustment will increase passenger capacity rather than simply increasing trip frequency. Currently, Marmaray carries on average 450,000 to 500,000 passengers daily; with other metro projects integrated into Marmaray, he said this figure could reach one million passengers.
After Marmaray became an effective part of the city’s public transport network, passengers gained faster, more comfortable journeys and many travelers shifted away from road vehicles. Minister Turhan pointed out that this shift reduces harmful emissions and significantly decreases travel times, producing meaningful time savings for commuters. He added that Marmaray users spend less time commuting and can use that saved time with their families or for other productive activities.