Türkiye has invited bids to rehabilitate and electrify the railway between Divriği and the Georgian border, part of its section of the Middle Corridor. The work is divided into three lots that should greatly increase capacity on the route. Proposals are due on 22 December.
Türkiye published the tender notice earlier this month. The work is part of the Eastern Türkiye Middle Corridor Railway Development Project (ETMIC), which is financed by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“We will rehabilitate the infrastructure and superstructure of the existing line from Divriği to the Kars border and carry out electrification and signalling works”, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu is quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency. The project will strengthen east–west rail links and increase the transport capacity of the Middle Corridor, he added.
Electrification all the way to Georgia
Lot 1 covers rehabilitation and electrification of the 156 kilometres between Divriği and Erzincan, Lot 2 the 223 kilometres between Erzincan and Erzurum. Lot 3 includes rehabilitation of the 208 kilometres from Erzurum to Kars, but electrification of the 288 kilometres from Erzurum to the Georgian border. The track works thus end at Kars, while the electrification project continues to the international border.
The final stretch from Kars to the border is handled separately. “With the ETMIC project, we will complete the construction of the second track, as well as electrification and signalling, on the line from Kars to the Georgian border, which we recently tendered with financing from the Islamic Development Bank”, Uraloğlu was quoted as saying in Hürriyet.
The contracts include both the design and construction work. Winners are expected to do the design, as well as carry out the track, signalling, telecommunication and electrification works. Construction is projected to take four years.
From 55 to 22 hours
The World Bank approved $660 million (about €593m) for the project in December 2024. The AIIB added $250 million (about €225m), while the Islamic Development Bank and the Turkish government are also contributing. The upgraded line will replace diesel-powered trains with electric ones, the World Bank said.
Türkiye is hoping to achieve significant infrastructural enhancement through the project. The rail freight travel time between Divriği and the Georgian border should fall from 55 hours to 22 hours by December 2030, according to the World Bank. Over the same period, the line’s maximum freight capacity should grow from 750,000 tonnes per year to 20 million tonnes per year: an increase of over 26 times.