In brief: Türkiye and the European Union inaugurated the Çerkezköy–Kapıkule section of the Halkalı–Kapıkule railway on Friday, 9 October, linking Istanbul to the Bulgarian border. The ceremony in Kırklareli was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos.
The European Commission financed the 153-km stretch with €275 million in grants under the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA II), calling it the largest infrastructure project to date in EU–Türkiye cooperation. Turkish officials said the new double-track, electrified line cuts freight transit time between Halkalı and Kapıkule from roughly 8.5 hours to 3.5 hours, while annual freight capacity is set to rise from 1.5 million to 9.5 million tonnes. Brussels describes the project as the first deliverable of its cross-regional Connectivity Agenda linking Europe to Central Asia via the South Caucasus, part of the wider Middle Corridor route.
For importers and forwarders moving freight between Türkiye and the EU via the Kapıkule crossing — one of the busiest road and rail gateways on the route — the shorter transit time and higher throughput should ease pressure on the border and offer a faster, higher-capacity alternative to road haulage as volumes on the Middle Corridor grow.
Source: European Commission.