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The Marmaray is a commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A portion of it runs through a tunnel underneath the Bosporus.
About the Marmaray
The Marmaray is one of the biggest and most controversial infrastructure projects ever undertaken – a commuter rail line under the Bosporus, connecting Europe with Asia in Istanbul. At the time it was built, there are already two bridges crossing the Bosporus. With ridiculous traffic clogging both of them and ferry traffic already at a maximum, a new solution was needed for this ever-growing city.
The Marmaray is the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel at over 60 meters (198 feet) deep. Construction started on May 9, 2004, and the it finally opened October 29, 2013 – over 3 years late. The section under the Bosporus is 1.4 kilometers (0.87 miles) long. When the entire line was completed on March 12, 2019, it expanded to 76.6 kilometers (47.6 miles), connecting Halkalı on the European side of Istanbul with the city of Gebze in Asia. The total cost of the project was over US$9 billion.
Why Was the Project Delayed?
In 2005, workers unearthed the Harbor of Eleutherios, a 4th-century Byzantine harbor at Yenikapı that silted up and was filled in during the Ottoman period.
Archaeologists slowed the project to a near-halt after finding traces of the walls of Roman emperor Constantine the Great and the only early medieval galley ever discovered, along with about 35 Byzantine ships from the 7th through 10th centuries, pottery fragments, weights, bones, and other artifacts dating back to 6000 BC. There were also several other pieces found in the dig between this point and the Bosporus.
Why Was the Marmaray So Controversial?
The cost. Delays. The government. And, oh yes, the earthquakes. The tunnel sits near one of the most active faults in the world. Basically, it’s a possible death trap. Still, engineers say that they solved the problem by making the tunnel flexible and adding floodgates and re-enforcements to the seabed.
However, on the first day of operation, there were technical problems causing the train to stop. Passengers had to walk through the tunnel! The government blamed “curious passengers” for hitting the emergency stop button. Nice try!
How Was My First Ride?
On November 16, 2013, I rode the Marmaray for the very first time. In under 5 minutes, I crossed the Bosporus in a tunnel. And yes, I was a little nervous that “The Big One” would hit just as I was passing through but I avoided certain death. Anyway, to possibility to make a trip from Üsküdar to Yenikapı that used to take me about an hour by ferry and bus in under 10 minutes? Yeah, sign me up. I’ll take my chances.
