Erdogan: Marmaray is a project connecting European and Asian continents

ISTANBUL (A.A) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Marmaray was a project connecting European and Asian continents. It is a Turkey and a world project, not only an Istanbul project, added Erdogan who spoke at the ceremony which was held for the welding of first rail in Marmaray Project.  Erdogan said that Marmaray was not a simple project, adding that rails were placed in the tubes which were installed 60 meters under the sea in this project. Erdogan noted that when the project was completed, it would connect not only Asian and European sides of Istanbul, but also a railway line would have been established between Beijing and London. He defined the project as a "modern silk road." He said that when Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Project and High-Speed train projects were completed, Turkey would be the most important and strategic country in Asia-Europe corridor in transportation. 76.3-kilometer Marmaray will have 40 stations in both sides of Istanbul. 13.6 kilometers of the line will be under the water. 75,000 passengers will be carried in an hour on a single course.