THE prime minister of Turkey, Mr Tayyip Erdoğan, and prime minister of Spain, Mr Mariano Rajoy, presided over a ceremony held in the Turkish capital of Ankara on February 12 to mark the opening of the city's second heavy metro line, M3.

THE first of five low-floor LRVs being supplied by China Northern Rolling Stock Corporation (CNR) subsidiary CNR Tangshan Railway Vehicles to the city of Samsun was delivered to Turkey by air on November 29.

ŠKODA Transportation unveiled the first of 60 type 28T low-floor LRV for the Turkish city of Konya on October 29.

TURKEY celebrated the completion of the rail connection between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul on October 29, with the inauguration of the Lira 9.2bn ($US 4.6bn) Marmaray link beneath the Bosphorus.

THE first of seven Velaro high-speed trains ordered by Turkish State Railways (TCDD) from Siemens is currently en route to Turkey.

TURKISH Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally launched test operation of the Marmaray link between the Asian and European sides of Istanbul on August 5, when he took the driver's seat for a historic first trip beneath the Bosphorus.

TURKISH State Railways (TCDD) has awarded a contract to Siemens for seven 300km/h trains for operation on its growing high-speed network.

TURKISH State Railways (TCDD) has awarded a contract to Huawei, China, to install GSM-R telecommunications on the 51km suburban line linking Izmir Alsancak with Tepekoy.

TURKISH State Railways (TCDD) has confirmed that test operation will begin on August 2 on the Marmaray link between the Asian and European sides of Istanbul.

ISTANBUL Metropolitan Municipality's Rail Systems Directorate invites bids from individual companies by July 15 for a fleet of 21 six-car trains for operation on the new Line M6 which is being built as the second metro line on the Asian side of the city.