The World Bank on March 31 approved a $2bn loan for the Istanbul North Rail Crossing Project (INRAIL), a move that has implications for rail transit corridors that run from China across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

The project is focused on boosting railway connectivity across the Istanbul Strait (Bosporus), currently known to freight forwarders as a substantial bottleneck. Turkey wants to build up its role as a key logistics hub that links Europe, Asia and the Middle East and the approved investment is essential to that end.

As things stand, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, running from the Azerbaijani capital on the Caspian Sea coast, through Georgia and on to northeastern Turkey, is an important node in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. The corridor connects China and Europe via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus and Turkey, with freight traffic branches from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan often flowing into it as a trunk corridor.

Looking at Turkey as a transit hub, the map also shows the Iraq Development Road (an emerging corridor far from completion) and the Turkey-EU corridor linking through to the Bosporus.

The World Bank-backed INRAIL project involves the construction of a 127-kilometre (79-mile) electrified, high-capacity railway line. It will include a new overland rail crossing of the strait.

The rail-ready Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge is to be utilised, with the route to bypass central Istanbul.

Targets for raised operational capacities include a trans-Bosporus rail freight capacity of approximately 50mn tonnes/year, a massive increase on the current 3mn tonnes/year.

"This project is a strategic and transformational investment for Türkiye," said Humberto Lopez, World Bank country director for Turkey. "By removing a critical rail bottleneck at the Istanbul Strait and enhancing the resilience and efficiency of rail infrastructure, Türkiye is boosting its competitiveness and reinforcing its role as a logistic hub.

“Indeed, the project will accelerate growth, contribute to job creation and more sustainable transport. And INRAIL will also generate benefits for the wider region as it will connect to other international corridors such as the Middle Corridor allowing merchandise to move between Europe and Central Asia, and the Development Road allowing traffic between Europe and the Gulf through Iraq. Indeed, this is more than building a bridge, it is about bridging continents.”

"INRAIL will increase the quality and quantity of railway infrastructure across a key link, increasing the competitiveness of rail transport in the entire country," said Daniel Pulido, World Bank task team leader. "By doing so, it will help Türkiye achieve its goal of shifting more passengers and freight from trucks to rail and enable long-term private sector investment in logistics and transport services."

It is expected that INRAIL will generate up to 414,000 better-paying jobs — including up to 99,000 new jobs — in communities along Turkey’s national and international rail corridors.

The World Bank added that it will positively impact manufacturing, agriculture, and services sectors.