Another, the third, completely «unmanned» metro line has been opened in the largest metropolis of Turkey - Istanbul. According to Turkish media, this is a line called the M8 with a length of just over fourteen kilometers (14.3 km). There are 13 stations scattered along this route.
The metro line is designed for the movement of trains with an interval of up to 90 seconds and for passenger transportation of over 44,000 people per hour in any of the two directions.
Work on laying the line began in 2016, but in 2019 it was suspended due to lack of funding; now the line has been commissioned.
The brand of the equipment is Hyundai, Haber clarifies; however, the compositions are «localized» - produced at the Eurotem plant in Turkey. So, there are now 10 trains running on the M8, four cars each. The length of each such subway train is 86 meters, the width of the train is 2.9 meters. Up to 1081 passengers can stay in it at a time. Well, the train can accelerate up to 80 kilometers per hour.
Recall that another important event in the field of Istanbul's transport infrastructure took place recently: the metro line leading to the New Airport, which replaced Ataturk Airport, finally opened. The first trains started on Sunday, January 22, 2023. In honor of the opening, the authorities promised residents and guests of the city free travel along this «branch line» for a whole month.
A few months earlier, the metro «got» to Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side, which led to an increase in the cost of housing in a number of areas adjacent to this route.