Marmaray Travel

The long-awaited and much-delayed Marmaray—a 13.3-km-long (8½-mile-long) rail tunnel extending under the Bosphorus from Sirkeci on the European side to Üsküdar on the Asian side—finally opened on October 23, 2013, the 90th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. The Marmaray is expected to revolutionize transport in Istanbul, linking up with new and existing rail lines to create a 76-km (47-mile) commuter rail line connecting the city’s farthest-flung suburbs and allowing passengers to cross under the Bosphorus in just four minutes.