Record US$250 million OPEC Fund loan to help close the rail gap between Asia and Europe

The OPEC Fund for International Development has approved a US$250 million loan to support the construction of a new railway line bypassing the Istanbul Metropolitan Area. It is the largest single financing in the institution’s history and forms part of an approved package of up to US$500 million.

The Istanbul North Rail Crossing will provide a high-capacity overland link across the Bosphorus, addressing a missing section in rail traffic between Asia and Europe. Today, freight trains can use the Marmaray tunnel only during limited night-time hours, which restricts annual rail freight capacity across the strait to around 3 million tonnes. The new line will raise this to 50 million tonnes.

The 127 km double-track, electrified line will run between Çayırova on the Asian side and Çatalca on the European side, crossing the Bosphorus via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. It will carry both passengers and freight, and will connect Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport with each other and with the national rail network.

For people and businesses, the effects will be tangible. Freight journey times between Çayırova and Çatalca will fall from around 13 hours to 3.6 hours. Travel by public transport between the two airports will drop from approximately two hours to 65 minutes. Moving freight from road to electrified rail will also reduce emissions and ease congestion in one of the world’s largest cities.

The project will strengthen three international trade corridors that cross Istanbul: the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor, the Iraq Development Road and the Türkiye-EU corridor, which accounts for a third of Türkiye’s international trade.

The total investment of US$8.3 billion is being provided by an international group of sponsors led and administered by the World Bank. They include the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank, alongside the Government of Türkiye.

OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “Türkiye has been an important partner of the OPEC Fund for nearly five decades and our cooperation continues to grow in scale and ambition. This record financing marks a new milestone in our partnership and reflects our shared commitment to infrastructure that strengthens connectivity, competitiveness and sustainable growth. The Istanbul North Rail Crossing will support Türkiye’s development while improving trade links between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.”

The OPEC Fund signed its first loan agreement with Türkiye in 1979. It has since approved almost US$850 million for transport infrastructure, agriculture, health, energy and other sectors, including recent loans addressing food security and climate resilience.