Railways once again instrumental in evacuations, this time in earthquake-hit Turkey
The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) have evacuated close to 40.000 people from the earthquake-stricken area in Southern Turkey over the past few days, the ministry of Transport and Infrastructure announced on Wednesday. TCDD in a short statement said it would continue to play its part in getting people to safety.
Railways have been back in the spotlight for getting people to safety from the onset of war in Ukraine one year ago. Ukrainian Railways and its European counterparts played a pivotal role in evacuating people from the warzone.
Now, TCDD is doing the same, albeit from an earthquake-stricken area. The company has executed 210 evacuation trips to date, getting 39.500 citizens to other areas. “We continue our journeys uninterruptedly, and carrying our earthquake victims to safety”, TCDD said. According to Transport minister Adil Karaismailoglu, 33 freight trains with aid goods have reached the area.
Meanwhile, the first repairs to the 1,275 kilometers of affected railway lines in Kahramanmaraş province have been carried out. Near Fevsipasa in Gaziantep province, repair works are also underweg. The line out of the hard-hit port city if Iskenderun in Hatay province is still in operation, enabling citizens to reach Adana, Mersin and Konya.
📍Fevzipaşa-Nurdağ arası
Depremden en çok etkilenen demiryolu hattımızda bakım-onarım çalışmalarımız yoğun bir şekilde devam ediyor!
Depremin izlerini ortadan kaldırmak, hayatı ulaşılır kılmak için var gücümüzle çalışıyoruz! pic.twitter.com/Bun0ueFQoT
— Hasan Pezük (@h_pezuk) February 14, 2023
Further reading:
