Konya Metropolitan Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay held an information meeting on new rail systems.

Emphasizing that they are carrying out important work with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Turkish State Railways (TCDD), and the Ministry’s General Directorate of Infrastructure Investments (AYGM) to improve the city’s rail system lines, Mayor Altay said:

"One of these projects has now taken concrete shape. As of Wednesday, we will, God willing, initiate the tender process. I hope the Barış Street Tram Line will be beneficial for our city. This line is one of the routes we planned within the framework of the 2030 Transportation Master Plan and previously presented to you on that large map. The line will be 13.85 kilometers long, with 18 stops, and in its first stage will serve 88,000 people. The Barış Street Line will start from Fırat Street, passing through Beyhekim Hospital, Beyhekim Street, Barış Street, Güzeldere Street, Demirhan Street, and Hadimi Street, first reaching Kent Plaza Shopping Mall and later extending to the High-Speed Train Station. Today, we are officially starting this project."

Mayor Altay underlined the great value of the ongoing investments and continued:

"With the removal of the old industrial zone, the suburban and metro station we will establish at the new High-Speed Train Station will serve as a central hub where all rail system lines will come together. This way, no matter which line you arrive on, you will be able to easily transfer to other lines from the city’s main transfer point. For now, we are also connecting this new line to our existing tram line, which means passengers will also be able to reach the Alaaddin Line.

As you know, in recent days we held the groundbreaking ceremony for the second stage of the Stadium–City Hospital Tram Line, with the participation of our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. We are working intensively on the first stage, especially in the area between the City Hospital and the New Industrial Site, where our teams and the contractor company are making rapid progress. On Aslım Street, we are close to completing most of the work. God willing, we will soon finish the central median works, helping to ease traffic, and we will also completely renew Aslım Street, giving our city a much more beautiful and valuable road.

On the stadium side, construction site preparations are ongoing. Hopefully, we will quickly connect this section as well, completing the Stadium–City Hospital–Courthouse Tram Line."

Addressing the overpass constructions planned as part of the rail system investments, Mayor Altay said,

“One important topic I want to share with you today regarding our Stadium–City Hospital Line is our overpass construction. Within this scope, we are building two new overpasses, revising two existing ones, and also constructing three pedestrian overpasses.

Especially at the Bus Station Junction, we will build an overpass that will carry both our rail system and vehicles above. This will make Bus Station Junction a three-level intersection. One of the challenges we face is the overpass we need to revise, particularly the Konya–Aksaray Road Overpass, which handles heavy traffic. Unfortunately, we need to completely rebuild this. We will demolish and reconstruct both the Aksaray Road, a key traffic artery, and the overpass that carries the high-speed train line, adapting them to fit the rail system.

Our other new overpass will be at the TÜMOSAN junction. As you know, pedestrian crossings there were previously canceled. When coming to Aslım Street, you had to turn right and then return via the roundabout ahead. With the new planned overpass, traffic will be directed above, and the rail system will pass underneath. This will eliminate the need to make a right turn followed by a U-turn in order to join the Aksaray Road junction from Aslım Street.

In addition, we will build pedestrian overpasses at three points. Once these lines are completed, our city will be equipped with rail systems running from north to south and east to west.”

Mayor Altay emphasized that Konya is a city that works with planning, knows what it is doing, and produces projects for the future. He said, “We are working continuously to carry the trust left to us even further. As Necip Fazıl expressed, ‘If you want to leave works like giants, you need to work like ants.’ We are putting in very intense effort.”