The line from the Black Sea port of Samsun to the city of Kalin is one of six rail routes in Turkey that have been selected to improve connections between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, to promote the development of regional transport and to reduce road accidents. This is a 377.8 kilometres railway line (plus the branch between Samsun and Gelemen, which is just over 10 km long) that links the cities of Samsun, on the Black Sea coast, and Kalin, in the centre of the country, where it connects to the Ankara-Sivas line.
29 STATIONS. With a total length of 378 kilometres, the line was built in the first half of the 20th century; it runs through a mountainous area and has 29 stations and 47 tunnels.
The project, run by the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, is funded by the European Union as part of its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). The scope of the project consists of modernising a conventional line, which was completed in 1932 on single track without electrification and without signalling. This is a very long line running through a mountainous area: it has 29 stations and 47 tunnels, the longest of which is 556 metres long, for a total of 7,259 metres.
The installation of the ERTMS L1 signalling system will increase the maximum speed from 70 km/h to 120 km/h on the entire line
The work of the consortium in which Ineco is involved includes the monitoring and control of the modernisation of the infrastructure, superstructure and installations. Within the consortium, the Ineco’s main role has been to supervise the signalling, communications and power supply works, as well as coordinating the electromechanical installations team.
Other activities carried out by the consortium include track extension supervision, tunnel renovation, platform and station upgrades, and new signalling and train protection systems, including the ERTMS Level 1 system.
Ineco will continue to provide technical assistance in 2021 to complete the signalling and telecommunications work on the line, a necessary step to reduce travel times and increase speeds. The ERTMS L1 train protection system installation will increase the maximum speed from 70 km/h to 120 km/h on the entire line. The new system will be able to perform train traffic operations at 5-minute intervals.
The line, which runs between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, was selected to promote the development of regional transport and reduce the number of road accidents
Provisional acceptance of the works took place in December 2019. Over the course of 2020, runs with test trains and trackside signalling were planned, as well as the completion of the installation and testing of the ERTMS L1 system. These plans were delayed due to the impact of COVID-19, so this work will continue in 2021.
