China-made trains enter service in Istanbul’s new metro line

A new metro line connecting central Istanbul and the city’s new international airport officially opened to the public on Sunday, featuring China-made automated driverless trains that could run up to 120 kilometers per hour.

“This 800,000 daily capacity metro line will allow travel from Kagithane Station to the Istanbul Airport in 24 minutes,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the opening ceremony.

The fully-automated, driverless trains were built by Chinese company CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. (CRRC ZELC), which signed a purchase and commissioning contract with Türkiye’s Directorate-General of Infrastructure Investments back in January 2020.