Ankara-Istanbul High-speed Railway, China's First Overseas Project of Its Kind, is Completed and Opens on July 25, 2014

The Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway, China's first overseas project of its kind, is completed and opens on July 25, 2014. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway, China's first overseas project of its kind, is completed and opens on July 25, 2014

The second phase of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway — China's first overseas project of its kind — was completed and opened to traffic on July 25, 2014.

The section has a total distance of 158 kilometers and a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

Traveling time between Ankara, capital of Turkey, and the Pontiac district of Istanbul was shortened from eight hours to three and a half when the section opened.

It was China's first overseas electrification high-speed project and was completely built to European standards, which played a significant role in promoting the country's high-speed railway to "go global".

Many Chinese central SOEs including China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, China General Technology (Group) Holding Co., Ltd and CRRC Corporation Limited participated in the project.

(Executive editor: Hao Wen)