Turkey’s 513 km Black Sea high-speed line is still at the feasibility stage
Plans for a 513 km Samsun-Sarp high-speed railway on Turkey’s Black Sea coast have not moved beyond feasibility work, and no construction tender date has been announced.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu restated the plan on 10 September at a groundbreaking ceremony for a waterfront park in Trabzon. He said the line would cut the journey between Samsun and Trabzon to two hours and link Samsun with Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Rize and Artvin.
Uraloğlu also set out the order of work. Construction has started between Kırıkkale and Çorum, and the Çorum–Havza section went to tender this year. The Havza–Samsun tender is planned for 2027. Only after that, the minister said, would the railway head on towards Trabzon.
Design figures for the Samsun-Sarp line
The most detailed figures date from February. Uraloğlu said then that the line was planned at 513 km and designed for 250 km/h, with 14 stations between Samsun and the Georgian border at Sarp. He put expected traffic at 12 million passengers and 14 million tonnes of freight a year and said the route would need many tunnels and viaducts.
At that point the project had been proposed for Turkey’s 2026 Investment Programme to start survey and preliminary design work. In August, Samsun Governor Orhan Tavlı said the 2026 programme includes the preparation of study, project and feasibility reports for the Samsun-Sarp line. The statements cited here give no cost estimate or completion date.
The traffic forecast repeats an earlier one. In June 2025 the ministry gave the same annual estimate of 12 million passengers and 14 million tonnes for the high-speed line from Ankara to Samsun.
How the Samsun-Sarp plan has changed since 2025
The ministry’s description of the project has shifted since last year. In April 2025, Uraloğlu spoke of a line of about 509 km built for 200 km/h for passengers and freight, and said it had been taken into the ministry’s programme. By February 2026 the stated length had grown to 513 km and the design speed to 250 km/h.
Where the Ankara–Samsun line stands
The coastal railway is meant to join the Ankara–Kırıkkale–Çorum–Samsun high-speed line. Work on its 120 km Delice–Çorum section began in June 2025, and the ministry aims to complete that section by the end of 2029. Beyond Çorum, the remaining 173 km via Merzifon to Samsun is the stretch covered by the Çorum–Havza and Havza–Samsun tenders.
The ministry says the full line from Ankara would bring Samsun within 2.5 hours of the capital. The minister did not say when construction on the coastal section could begin.
| Parameter | Samsun-Sarp line | Ankara–Kırıkkale–Çorum–Samsun high-speed line |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 513 km | 293 km of new line from Delice to Samsun |
| Design speed | 250 km/h | 200 km/h on the Delice–Çorum section; not stated for the whole line |
| Stations | 14 | 5 on the Delice–Çorum section; not stated for the whole line |
| Annual traffic forecast | 12 million passengers and 14 million tonnes of freight | 12 million passengers and 14 million tonnes of freight |
| Status in September 2026 | Study, project and feasibility work in the 2026 Investment Programme; no construction tender date | Delice–Çorum under construction since June 2025, with completion targeted for the end of 2029; Çorum–Havza tendered in 2026; Havza–Samsun tender planned for 2027 |
The coastal line has not reached construction, while the line it would join is partly being built. The two length figures cover different scopes and are not directly comparable. Both projects carry the same annual traffic forecast. Sources: Samsun-Sarp parameters, February 2026; Ankara–Samsun parameters and timetable, June 2025; 2026 tender plans, statement of 10 September 2026; programme status from Samsun Governor Orhan Tavlı, August 2026.
