The opening ceremony of Ankara Metro’s M3 Line was held on 12 February 2014 in the presence of the Turkish Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip Erdogan), the Turkish President (Abdullah Gül) and the Prime Minister of Spain (Mariano Rajoy).
The 15.5 Km long line has 11 stations and is part of the first of three sets (4 lines) of the Ankara Metro CBTC project. The project also includes the renovation of the existing M1 line and of the currently operating deposit, as well as the construction of lines M2 and M4, for a total length of 55 Km and 44 stations, with 144 trains to be equipped with the CBTC system.
Line M3 is now operational in DTP mode. The completion of all CBTC features is expected by the end of 2014.
The Contract was awarded to the consortium Ansaldo STS – Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri Ve Ticaret A.S (whose Leader is Ansaldo STS), by EGO Municipality of ANKARA. It was then transferred in 2011 from EGO to AYGM (Altyapi Yatirimlari Genel Mudurlugu), a company held by the Turkish Ministry of Transportation.
During the ceremony, the Turkish Prime Minister announced that he was satisfied with the achievement of this challenging objective for the city of Ankara, thanking all the companies who took part in the construction process, including the consortium led by Ansaldo STS.
This first milestone was achieved thanks to the commitment, determination and professionalism of all those involved in the construction process and to the efficient integration of an International team. This step is of fundamental importance for Ansaldo STS, as it strengthens its competitiveness and strategic positioning on the Turkish market, because the AYGM is in charge of promoting major future mass transit tenders in Turkey.
This work shall continue as there are additional activation phases, which include the DTP opening of M2 line expected at the beginning of March 2014, the progressive CBTC updating of Lines M1, M3, M2 from the end of 2014 and the opening of the fourth CBTC M4 line in 2015.
Press Release of Ansaldo STS, 17 February 2014
