TURKEY: Passenger-carrying pre-operation started on the 6·5 km western extension of Izmir metro Line 1 from Fahrettin Altay to Sehitlik on February 24 with a ceremony attended by Izmir Mayor Tunç Soyer.
Passengers can travel free of charge until April 15.
A remaining, one-station, 1 km section from Sehitlik further west to Kaymakamlık is due to open ‘in the coming days’ according to Izmir municipality. The extension is initially being operated with a 15 min frequency; headways are expected to be reduced further once the whole line is fully operational.
Park and ride facilities have been built at Balçova and Kaymakamlık stations with a total capacity of 219 vehicles.
A €252m contract for civil works was signed in June 2018, but the final budget was €287m due to increased construction costs. The line is expected to be used by 170 000 passengers per day.
